Employability

Live in South Yorkshire? Not in training, education or employment?
Ready to start looking? We’re here to help you!

Sheffield Futures offers employment guidance – not instructions, because your employment journey is your own. We’re here to help you discover the options available to you.

You’ll work with an Employment Coach, who will spend time getting to know you and understanding your situation and your hopes for the future. We can support you to find training or education, write your CV, search for jobs, do job applications and prepare for interviews.

All we ask of you is that you fully engage with your Coach.

Our Summer Jobs Programme is a six-week paid initiative taking place over this Summer, for young people aged 16-20.

  • The Summer Jobs Programme is a six-week initiative for young people aged 16-20 at risk of violence, helping them gain skills, confidence, and a brighter future. It includes a one-week pre-employment training for the young people, followed by a five-week paid work placement.

    The programme is part of a study to help us understand if young people benefit from this programme, and whether it’s a good idea to offer it to even more young people in the UK. The information we collect helps government and organisations supporting young people make decisions that can improve life for you and other young people.

  • Referrals for the Summer Jobs Programme 2025 are now open! To qualify for the programme, young people must meet the eligibility criteria. 

    Referrals close on Saturday 17th May 2025.

    We accept self-referrals and professional referrals.

    This year, the programme is also running as a Randomised Control Trial (RCT). This means that if they registered following referral, young people will be randomised into either a control group of the intervention group, with a 50% chance of a summer job. 

    However, a referral does not guarantee a place on the programme and not everyone who is referred will be registered to the programme. Therefore, we recommend referring early. 

    Submit a referral.

  • The Summer Jobs Programme aims to build evidence on the best ways to support the most vulnerable young people in our country by keeping them safe and improving their future involvement in education, training, and employment.

    The programme successfully engaged 500 young people in 2024, and this year the programme is expanding with the inclusion of a Randomised Control Trial (RCT).

    • Young people have a 50% chance of paid work experience (as long as there are placements available). A computer programme with randomly place them into one of two groups:    

    • Group 1: This group of young people will receive a placement with Summer Jobs    

    • Group 2: This group of young people will not receive a placement with Summer Jobs.  If you are placed in this group, Sheffield Futures will continue to support you on your journey through our regular employability offer.

    For more information, visit UK Youth’s website.

  • The full list of criteria can be found here.

    To be accepted onto the programme, the young person must meet all of the criteria in Column 1 and at least 1 of the criteria in Column 2.

Positive mental health is key to seeking, starting and maintaining employment.

That’s why wellbeing is an integral part of our employment work and we link to and from our mental health and wellbeing service, Door 43.

Get to know the Employability Team

  • Charmaine is a white woman with cropped auburn hair and glasses. She wears a blue turtleneck jumper.

    Charmaine Myers

    Service Coordinator

  • Jane is a white woman with long blonde hair. She is wearing a black top.

    Jane Dyson

    Project Coach

  • Gemma is a white woman with long blonde hair. She is wearing a blue SF hoody unzipped over a brown t-shirt with leopard print pocket.

    Gemma Nally

    Project Coach

  • Illustration of a star inside a blue circle

    Chelsea Wilkins

    Project Coach