Caring for our Care Experienced colleagues

Care Experienced Internship Programme providing career opportunities

Care Experienced Week 2022 runs from 23 to 30 October.

This year marks 20 years of Care Experienced Week – an opportunity to celebrate the experience of Care Experienced people and acknowledges that they do not leave their experiences behind when they leave formal care. The Scottish Government introduced legislation in 2014 to ensure that Scottish public sector bodies had responsibilities to meet the needs of looked after children, young people and care leavers. This was introduced through the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014. As one of the largest arms of the Scottish Government, Social Security Scotland is fully supportive of these aims and provides job opportunities for care leavers through a dedicated programme.

Brogan Dennison, joined us in the Accommodation Team at High Street, Glasgow earlier this year after graduating with a film-making and screenwriting degree from University of West of Scotland in Ayr. Brogan decided she wanted to take a break from the pressures of the creative world and decided to apply for a role with us through our Care Experienced Internship Programme. These opportunities were highlighted by Brogan’s carer Lesley and, looking for a new career challenge, Brogan decided to apply. She was successful with her application and joined us as a Workplace Officer in February. Her role is an essential one in making sure our large Glasgow office runs smoothly. She is responsible for attending to any issues that are reported by staff such as technical or equipment related faults and coming up with a plan of action to fix them.

Brogan commented: “I have learned lots since I started with Social Security Scotland. My job is busy every day and there’s always something to attend to or a colleague that needs help with something. I like to be busy and this role is perfect for that.”

Moving into an office-based job was slightly concerning for Brogan at the start. However, the supportive team, inclusive culture and training she was offered soon helped her settle into her new working life with us.

Brogan says, “I was pleasantly surprised when I got into the swing of an office job. It wasn’t really what I expected at all but I love it now. My team are great and really supportive. For me, the Civil Service looks like a good career opportunity. In the future, I want to maybe move around a bit and see what other parts of the Civil Service can offer in the future.”

We understand the challenges people with care experience can face when venturing into the world of work for the first time and we are committed to supporting care experienced individuals. They can struggle to find employment when they leave care as they may not have the qualifications or experience employers are looking for. The Care Experienced Internship Programme supports care experienced people to get into the workplace, develop their skills and gain that experience. Our Care Experienced Internship Programme offers opportunities and in-work training and support to people with a care experienced background. By building a workforce with lived experience at its core we can better serve the people of Scotland. This is another example of the way we are doing things differently as we deliver benefits with dignity, fairness and respect.

Further Information:

- More details on our commitment can be found in our corporate parenting plan at Social Security Scotland - Our Corporate Parenting Plan.

- Details on the Scottish Government’s policy on Corporate Parenting is available here