Amara is a young adult carer and looks after her Mam. She’s had to prioritise her caring role over completing a Master’s degree. With support from the Working for Carers project, Amara has found a part-time job she enjoys, which still allows her to receive Carers Allowance. This has put less pressure on her future, so Amara can pursue her dream of completing a Master’s degree in the future.
Amara is a young adult carer who looks after her Mam. She recently graduated from university after successfully completing a Psychology degree. Due to her caring role, Amara had to stay close to home for university, rather than moving away from Newcastle like many of her friends did.
After her graduation ceremony, Amara was keen to continue her education and hoped to complete a Master’s degree in social work. However, with her caring responsibilities taking up a lot of her time, Amara had to stay close to her Mam and wasn’t able to start her Master’s degree.
She still had some flexibility to look for part-time work but lacked the confidence and struggled to find or apply to any roles which would still fit in with her Carers Allowance.
Amara was referred into the Working for Carers project, which support carers throughout their employment and educational journey. One of our friendly Employability Advisors worked with Amara to find out what she was struggling with and what she was support she needed.
They worked together to search for various jobs and developed Amara’s CV to a high standard. Amara also received specialist information from the Working for Carers Benefits & Legal Advisor, who advised her on the number of hours she could work whilst still receiving Carers Allowance.
Amara and her Employability Advisor worked together to increase her confidence levels, and discussed how she could find a balance between looking after her Mam and pursuing her dreams.
She also accessed a financial grant (Progression Fund) from the Working for Carers project, to reduce the transport barrier she faced. This allowed her job search to widen, increasing the number of opportunities available. The Progression Fund allowed Amara to buy a bicycle, helmet and bike lock to increase her accessibility to various work opportunities.
As well as working on employment opportunities, Amara and her Employability Advisor discussed and contacted degree apprenticeships and university courses to ensure Amara still had this opportunity in the future.
Amara successfully received an interview for a role she had applied for. Despite being extremely nervous before stepping into the interview, Amara practiced her skills in a set of mock interviews with her Employability Advisor.
Now going into the interview knowing what to expect, Amara flourished in-front of two different panels of employers. She deservedly secured the job whilst also increasing her own confidence levels.
With support from the Working for Carers project, Amara now has a part-time job which she enjoys, giving her a chance to take a break from looking after her Mam. She’s still able to access her Carers Allowance, putting less pressure on her future.
Our Employability Advisor keeps in touch with Amara to check-in and see if there is anything else she needs support with. In the near future, this will include supporting Amara to find a Master’s degree in social work and in the meantime, the continued support in balancing her caring role with work.
North Tyneside Carers’ Centre, Newcastle Carers and Carers Northumberland are working together to deliver the Working for Carers Project. This project is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with the North East Combined Authority as the lead authority.
We provide friendly and specialised support for unpaid carers aged 16+ to find a job, maintain employment, access education, training and volunteering opportunities. Find out more about the Working for Carers project.
