What helps young care leavers to enter the world of work? Possible lessons learned from an exploratory study in Ireland and Catalonia

Work is important for promoting social inclusion, especially for marginalized or economically vulnerable populations. There is also evidence that work is associated with stability and social integration for young people who have left care. There is, however, little detailed evidence on how young care-leavers access, and remain in, the world of work. This paper seeks to address this issue. It reports on preliminary findings from a cross-national qualitative study conducted in Ireland and Catalonia. The study set out to explore factors influencing care-leavers' entry into, and progress within, the word of work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 young adults (10 from Ireland, 12 from Catalonia) aged between 23 and 33years. The main criteria for inclusion were that study participants should have spent an extended period of time in care and have had substantial employment experience since leaving care. Preliminary analysis reveals different ‘pathways’ into the world of work for the young adults in the study, and a range of influences and circumstances related to these pathways. The implications of the findings for further research and for child welfare practice and policy and research are explored. •The article explores how young care-leavers access, and remain in, the world of work.•It looks at influences on care-leavers' entry into, and progress within, the word of work.•Support from carers was found to be a key influence in terms of entry to work in both countries.•Relations with employers, care experience and previous work experience were other relevant factors.