Employment Advisor

Employment Advisors work with clinical teams to support adults and young people receiving mental health services to find or keep the right job for them.

You will support job seekers to identify their strengths, skills, and aspirations and provide support to them and their employer once they are in a job. Your personality and attitude are very important in this role, along with a genuine belief that someone with a history of poor mental health or addictions can find sustainable employment. You will need to be passionate about making a difference and be able to build hopeful relationships.

Employment Advisor is also known as Employment Specialist, Careers Adviser.

Role Characteristics

Help people find work that appeals to them
Help people prepare for interviews
Build relationships with employers to secure job opportunities that are not always obvious
Advise on reasonable adjustments at work
Help people you work with break down barriers and challenges
Be creative in job searches

Skills

Advice giving
Empathy
Goal-setting
Organisation
Team work
Communication

Day in the life

Watch Ajay talk about his work as an Employment Advisor.

Routes into this role

Here are some example routes that can lead into this role.

GCSEs

BTEC

A-Levels

An apprenticeship

Undergraduate degree

How to become

There are many routes into Employment Advice; these include volunteering, work experience or apprenticeships.

You will normally need 5 GCSEs including English, maths, and sciences, or equivalent. You will normally need either A-Levels, BTEC or T-Levels depending on your preference in learning. However, volunteering and work experience is valued by employers.

Any experience of supporting people with health issues into work or voluntary work positions will be an advantage, or if you have experience working with other agencies including Job Centre Plus.

It is important to check your preferred course provider's entry requirements for guidance.

Where can this role lead

No matter what role you start in or where you are in your career path, there are always opportunities to develop and progress in health and care.

You become a Senior Employment Specialist or the Team Leader of a group of Employment Specialists. This will involve providing supervision, training, and mentoring to your team, and offering a pivotal role in managing a high-quality service.