Specialist career support

Tailored advice, confidence-building, and practical help to move into work, training, or self-employment.

Specialist career support programmes

Everyone’s journey is unique, and our core jobs and training services might not quite fit – which is why we also offer specialist career support under three further programmes - Active Inclusion, Empowering Futures and Enterprising Futures.

Whether you’re just starting out in work, looking to build confidence, or exploring a business idea, we offer free, specialist career advice alongside our core jobs and training services – all designed around your needs.

All jobs and training programmes come under our Clarion Futures charitable foundation – find out more about Clarion Futures’ wider work.

Why choose our support?

If you think these programmes might be for you, register your interest and we’ll be in touch. Our specialist careers advisors are trained to work one-to-one with anyone needing slightly different support – so you can confidently take your next step, whatever that looks like.

There are various avenues, depending on who you are and what you need help with. Whether you want to apply for jobs but need a confidence boost, want to develop a business idea, or are just starting to explore what’s out there, there’s a programme that could help.

All jobs and training programmes come with access to our Virtual Academy.

More about each programme

We understand some people face bigger barriers getting into work or training, or deciding which next step is for them. Active Inclusion is a support programme designed to counteract that.

It aims to improve health and wellbeing for adult residents looking to move towards employment – whatever stage you’re at in that journey.

Active Inclusion can help with things like:

Confidence-building and emotional wellbeing
Creating routines and setting goals
Developing resilience and coping strategies
Finding local activities or training courses
Improving physical and mental health, including signposting to local services
Step-by-step job or course planning
Taking part in green initiatives and local environmental projects

If you’re a young person, you could also look at Empowering Futures.

I’m interested in Active Inclusion

If you’re a Clarion resident aged 16 to 30, you could get help under Empowering Futures – our programme designed especially for young people.

Support is built around three core steps:

Discover and plan – explore your strengths, interests and goals
Build and grow – develop skills, grow your confidence and gain real-world experience through training, volunteering or placements
Achieve and thrive – take your next step into work, training or further education

Support includes:

Confidence and life skills sessions
One-to-one advice from youth specialists
Help with CVs, interviews and job searches
Links to training, work placements or volunteering

I’m interested in Empowering Futures

If you’re a Clarion resident thinking of working for yourself, Enterprising Futures might be the right path. Whether you have a business idea, a side-hustle you want to grow, or are just exploring self-employment possibilities, we can help you get started.

You don’t need a full business plan, just motivation and an idea. We’ll provide the guidance and tools you need to move forward with confidence.

You can get:

One-to-one business coaching
Support network access, and advice from other Clarion residents
Workshops on marketing, planning and finance

I’m interested in Enterprising Futures

Get support while you focus on your next step

Looking for work or training can be challenging, especially if money worries are getting in the way. We’ve partnered with Lightning Reach to help you find financial support in one place, so you can focus on your next step. Their free, secure online portal connects you to support from over 2,500 trusted organisations, including help with bills, grants, benefits checks and other vital support such as food, clothing or uniforms. It’s quick to sign up, easy to use on any device, and designed to reduce paperwork, helping ease financial pressure while you build skills, train or look for work.

Create your free account and see what support you could access, so you can focus on gaining skills, finding work and planning your next step.

Specialist career support