Places for London, in partnership with The Skills Centre and FATIMA'S UK CAMPAIGN, has launched a scheme designed to bring career opportunities to those leaving or supporting people in the care system.

Care in Construction looks to help address the challenges faced by care leavers by providing training, work placements, and direct routes into employment.

An event last week saw employer partners such as the Lower Thames Crossing, Gallagher Group and Marlborough Highways, as well as the charity Drive Forward Foundation, come together to meet with Olympian Fatima Whitbread, founder of FATIMA'S UK CAMPAIGN. Having spent 14 years in the care system, she has become one of the UK's most prominent advocates for young people and is lending the expertise of her charity to the scheme to help connect employers with care leavers and their families to support their entry into the sector.

Roughly 40% of young people aged 19-21 with care experience are unemployed or not in education, employment or training, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data. This is nearly three times the rate among their peers (15%).

Through Care in Construction, the partners hope to open new pathways into an industry that young people may not have thought accessible by providing training and confidence to help build some of the UK's biggest projects.

Kyian, aged 20, and Leighton, aged 16, have recently completed a course with The Skills Centre and Marlborough Highways and are now looking forward to taking up an apprenticeship with the highways and civil engineering contractor. Both entered the care system at a young age and want to see more people who are in or leaving care take advantage of opportunities to learn new skills and find careers in this rewarding industry.

Kyian said: 'People like me who've been in care should be confident in what they have, what they can do. Everyone is different but we can take the opportunities courses like this give us -  we can rise up from where we've come from and do well from it. Marlborough's shown me that I can do so much and I'm learning all the time. I'm so happy I got this opportunity, without it, I don't know what I'd be doing, but now I'm looking forward to building up my future.'

More than 60 care-experienced young people will be supported into employment through the programme, which has the potential to create wider opportunities for thousands more care-experienced young people across London, the southeast and the rest of the UK in the years ahead.

The programme also responds to a growing demand for skilled workers across the construction and infrastructure sectors, demonstrating how employers can tackle skills shortages while creating meaningful impact at a time when a third of the UK construction workforce is expected to retire within the next ten years.

Laura Miller, head of skills and growth at Places for London, said: ‘By bringing together some of the construction industry's biggest employers, Care in Construction is creating real opportunities for young people to gain valuable skills, access rewarding careers and fulfil their potential. This programme is about confidence, ambition and showing young people with care experience that there is a place for them in an industry that helps shape the future of our towns, cities and communities.'

Ms Whitbread added: 'I am incredibly proud that FATIMA'S UK CAMPAIGN has helped bring together the Care in Construction programme. This is about far more than employment - it is about creating genuine opportunities for care-experienced young people to build confidence, develop valuable skills and achieve long-term independence.

‘By working together with industry partners, we are opening doors into meaningful careers, giving young people the chance to realise their potential and build sustainable futures.

‘Care in Construction is proof that when charities, employers and communities collaborate, we can create lasting change and help transform lives.'

Jon Howlin, chief executive officer at The Skills Centre, said: 'Having seen first-hand both the challenges and the potential of care-experienced young people through my own family's fostering journey, I know how important it is that we create meaningful opportunities. Every young person deserves the chance to build a positive future, and this programme is about turning that belief into action.'