Our innovative, participant-informed work to tackle inequity and reduce the number of young people who are NEET has been recognised with three finalist listings at the prestigious Children and Young People Now Awards.
Career Connect has been shortlisted in the following categories:
Youth Inactivity Award (new category)
We’re recognised for bringing national attention to – and leading the way – in supporting young people with social, emotional and mental health challenges (SEMH) take their next steps into education, employment or training.
Our groundbreaking research (January 2025) found that young people with an EHCP and an SEMH support need are five times more likely to experience time out of education, employment or training (EET) in Year 12 than their peers, with one in three becoming NEET after leaving post-16 provision. We also gave a number of recommendations.
Since 2019, when we identified SEMH as a growing issue, our charity-wide response has evolved. Across our NEET services, we have used frontline insight and participant voice to shape targeted support, working closely with local authorities, colleges and employers to share best practice, develop new provision and even launch and chair NEET prevention panels.
We’ve embedded SEMH-responsive practice by training frontline staff in mental health first aid, trauma-informed response, ADHD awareness and neurodiversity, while raising awareness among policy and decision makers about the scale of SEMH need and effective practice.
Alongside this, we’ve proposed national qualitative benchmarks for careers support for 16–17-year-olds who are NEET.
We’ve also delivered targeted programmes, designed to meet the needs of young people facing SEMH challenges including an intensive EET programme in Knowsley, the Turnaround Programme with Hugh Baird College and the Pathways Programme with Manchester City Council. We’ve also used Liverpool Trailblazer funding innovatively to address gaps in provision for young people 18+.
The Leaving Care Award
Career Connect has been delivering the NEET Reduction and Prevention Service on behalf of Sefton Council since 2019, which has included a dedicated Leaving Care Careers Adviser – Margy Brash – since 2025.
Margy is co-located with other key services. Margy’s caseload includes Cared for Children from Year 10 onwards in preparation for post-16, and post-16 care leavers. This shortlisting recognises the embedded and collaborative nature of what Margy does to get the best results for the young people she supports.
Margy is Career Connect’s lead contact in the Sefton Caring Business Charter, utilising it to help develop innovative and impactful opportunities for care leavers – such as employer placements and job opportunities – as they plan their futures. She has linked young people with employers through the Charter, including opportunities with Balfour Beatty, Sovini and ASDA.
Margy empowers young people in planning their independent living, and by ensuring they know they have a reliable, approachable, impartial adult on their side. This has included spotting gaps – such as financial awareness – and Margy undertaking training to deliver the Multiply Programme (financial independence and budgeting) and Liverpool Trailblazer Digital Inclusion Programme.
What young people say:
“Margy is someone who never gives up on you. Even when I stopped answering messages, she kept checking in.”
“For the first time I feel like I have a future.”
Partnership Working Award
The Turnaround Programme is a needs-based employability and study programme delivered in partnership by Career Connect, Hugh Baird College, and Sefton Council.
The programme is designed to re-engage young people who are NEET and have no other pathway to progression, by offering targeted, personalised support and learning.
Together, we’re supporting young people tackle complex barriers including low confidence, poor mental health, additional learning needs, and limited access to opportunities.
Turnaround focuses on building key employability skills and experience that young people can immediately use on their journey into employment, education and training. It also brings young people into contact with wider partners, employers and specialist support.
What young people say:
“Turnaround…has built my confidence. I can speak well in a group now, speak out loud. I would normally be quiet. I’ve learned employability skills, about the different types of CVs.”
“I’ve learned quite a lot – time management, communication skills – it was a small group but I was still learning communication. I enjoyed it. The most useful bit of the course was that it pushed me back on track.”
Career Connect CEO Sheila Clark said:
“Making three shortlists is testament to the depth and breadth of what our passionate teams do to set young people up for success.
“From collaborating on the design of individual programmes, to our Charity-wide response to gaps in provision for young people with SEMH needs, we’re making big inroads in bringing the key issues to the decision makers and changing thinking about what good provision looks like.
“As well as our research report – which had a fantastic response – we’re making an impact by showing what works, sharing evidence of outcomes, amplifying what young people say, and demonstrating how services designed with young people get better long term results.
“I’m incredibly proud of all of our NEET teams. You change lives everyday – and I am so happy that you are being recognised nationally by these prestigious awards.”
Sheila Clark,
CEO at Career Connect
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