SPONSORED: Supporting care experienced young people to a career in law — becoming a care aware employer

The UK workforce is confronting a convergence of structural pressures: an ageing demographic profile, persistent skills shortages, an increasing emphasis on diversification, and the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining talent at all levels.

The legal sector is not immune to these challenges, and indeed may feel some of them more acutely, given the sector’s reliance on highly skilled professionals and long-term career development pathways.

At the same time, Care Experienced young people – those who have grown up in foster care, kinship care, residential care, or with social work involvement at home – are actively seeking meaningful career opportunities to help them realise their potential. Yet despite their resilience, creativity, and drive, they remain underrepresented in stable, long-term employment, particularly in areas such as law. This disparity does not reflect a lack of ability. Rather, it raises a more fundamental question: are employers are sufficiently equipped to create environments in which this talent can access, sustain, and progress in work?

In Scotland, there has been a marked increase in policy attention aimed at improving outcomes for Care Experienced individuals, particularly in the wake of the Independent Care Review, and with renewed commitments to Social Mobility Strategies and Frameworks. However, achieving meaningful change requires more than policy ambition. Employers have a key role to play in translating this ambition into practice, particularly in embedding inclusive recruitment practices, supportive retention strategies, and workplace cultures that enable progression.

For nearly five decades, Who Cares? Scotland has supported Care Experienced individuals to have their voices heard and to access opportunities. More recently, this work has expanded to include direct engagement with employers. Partnerships with organisations such as the John Lewis Partnership have focused on improving understanding of the barriers faced by this group and identifying practical steps to support their inclusion in the workforce.

Through CPD-certified Care Aware Workforce Training, employers are supported to:

• understand the barriers that Care Experienced people can face in training and employment;

• reflect on how workplace practices may unintentionally exclude or disadvantage this group;

• identify practical steps to become more inclusive, supportive, Care Aware employers; and

• align organisational practices with broader commitments relating to corporate social responsibility (CSR), environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, and equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI).

The training is tailored to the specific context of each organisation, thereby maximising its practical impact. Participating employers have reported measurable improvements in retention, which they attribute to cultural shifts initiated through the programme.

“The feedback we've had has been incredible. People have told us it's made them better people managers, and that they've learned things they had never considered before… It has been delivered with compassion, understanding and care and our teams have felt privileged to attend.”

— Ceira Thom, Head of Learning, Inclusion & Belonging, John Lewis Partnership

“I found this training so informative as I am care experienced myself and didn't realise there was so much help and support out there for people like me.”

– Care experienced employee

Becoming a “care-aware” employer should not be understood solely as an exercise in corporate social responsibility. It also represents a pragmatic response to workforce challenges. By recognising and supporting Care Experienced employees, organisations can enhance recruitment pipelines, improve retention outcomes, and cultivate more inclusive workplace cultures. In doing so, they contribute to the development of a more sustainable and future-ready workforce.

Ultimately, this is about opportunity. Care Experienced young people have the skills and potential to succeed. The central question is whether employers are ready to create the conditions in which that potential can be realised.

Contact [email protected] to discuss how to access Who Cares? Scotland CPD accredited Care Aware Employer Training.