0:10 Pathway to Work is an incentive that we're incredibly proud of in Merthyr Tydfil.
0:14 It is our pathway to supporting our care experienced young people
0:17 on their journey to employment and work opportunities.
0:21 Pathway to Work programme is a cross-departmental project within the local authority.
0:25 Pretty ground-breaking in its approach.
0:26 Never been done before.
0:28 So the employability team, as part of economic development,
0:30 and the Children's Services department have come together to create this massive project.
0:35 We recognise that many of our children looked after have incredible talent,
0:39 but actually through their pre-care experiences, they have some additional support needs
0:43 that require a more intensive pathway.
0:45 Through the Pathway to Work programme, we deliver that.
0:47 Even people who haven't been in care,
0:49 it feels like they still have the barriers
0:50 to not be able to have something as good as this on their CV, experience this good.
0:54 So that has pushed past
0:56 anything that I could have actually hoped for really.
0:59 It's great.
1:00 What I really enjoy about
1:02 where I work is the fact that I'm able to join
1:04 in on important meetings
1:06 that are based around
1:08 discussion for actually making change and an impact.
1:11 And I've been able to do that, which is amazing.
1:14 For example, we won an award the other day
1:16 and that was brilliant because it's all
1:20 based around all the changes that are happening
1:21 and the fact that I'm part of that.
1:23 I love it for those reasons.
1:25 I'm really proud of the Pathway to Work project, particularly the ILM scheme.
1:29 It's been really transformational in the lives
1:31 of some of our young people who have come
1:33 from underprivileged backgrounds and have traumatic experiences,
1:37 it’s increased their self-confidence, their self-belief,
1:40 and also as a local employer, it's increased our knowledge about
1:43 the barriers faced by our young people
1:45 and our corporate parenting responsibilities to those in
1:48 the care of the local authority.