Building Futures Before Barriers Begin: How supported accommodation helps 16 to18 year olds prepare for independence and work.

Before the Benefits System, There’s the Belief System

Across the UK, too many 16–18-year-olds in supported accommodation face instability long before they reach adulthood. They’re expected to prepare for work, education, and independence without first being given the safety, consistency, and trust that make those goals possible.

At Oasis Care, we support young people who are learning to rebuild, emotionally, socially, and practically. For most of them, “employment pathways” aren’t yet about wages or work allowances. They start much earlier, with confidence, belonging, and the belief that their future can be different from their past.

Two years after the YMCA’s Breaking Barriers to Work report, we’re reflecting on what “barrier-breaking” really means for those who are not yet in the workforce, but already navigating the systems that will shape it.

Policy Talks About Employment — Practice Starts with Stability

The YMCA’s 2023 report focused on young adults aged 18–25 and the barriers they face once they begin to claim benefits or seek work. For 16–18-year-olds in supported accommodation, those barriers take a different form. They don’t begin with Universal Credit, they begin with instability:

• Moving between placements or schools.

• Navigating new professional relationships.

• Carrying trauma from loss, neglect, or separation.

  
  

Before a young person can think about jobs or apprenticeships, they need safety, consistency, and connection.That’s where trauma-informed supported accommodation plays its most vital role.

“Our job isn’t just to get a young person into work, it’s to help them reach a place where work even feels possible.”— Chantelle Rotherham, Registered Manager, Oasis Care

Understanding the Real Barriers for 16–18-Year-Olds

The same themes identified by the YMCA for older care leavers already show up in the lives of younger residents — just in different ways.

Barrier	What It Looks Like for 16–18s	What’s Needed
System complexity	Education, housing, and social care operate under separate frameworks. Young people often fall between them.	Joined-up commissioning and clearer transition planning.
Limited access to work	Age restrictions, limited transport, and patchy ESOL or vocational training make participation difficult.	Early partnerships with colleges and youth employment programmes.
Economic pressure	Many rely on local authority allowances or small learning grants that don’t match real living costs.	Budgeting skills, financial literacy, and consistent support.
Trauma and trust	Fear of failure, past instability, or emotional dysregulation can limit engagement.	Consistent staff relationships and trauma-informed approaches.

These barriers aren’t about unwillingness, they’re about unreadiness, shaped by systems that still prioritise compliance over care.

A Welsh Perspective: The Transition Gap

In Wales, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 requires local authorities to prepare young people for adulthood.In reality, transition planning often happens late or inconsistently because of resource pressures and siloed systems.

That’s where providers like Oasis Care step in — building independence, promoting education, and bridging the gap between care and self-reliance.

Government programmes like Jobs Growth Wales+ and the Young Person’s Guarantee open new employment routes post-18 — but without early preparation, too many young people aren’t ready to benefit from them.

Our experience reflects the national picture:

As of October 2025, only 41% of care-experienced young people aged 18–25 in England and Wales were in education, employment, or training (DfE & StatsWales, 2025).

Those outcomes don’t begin at 18 — they start years earlier, when young people are still learning to trust adults, regulate emotions, and picture themselves as part of a community.

What Works in Early Independence Support

At Oasis Care, we believe the work of “breaking barriers” starts years before employment — by giving young people the tools, trust, and stability that make independence possible.

Through our trauma-informed model, we focus on:

1. Routine and Stability Predictable routines that create safety, helping young people build confidence through daily structure.

2. Education and Learning Access Strong links with colleges and ESOL providers so learning becomes achievable, not intimidating.

3. Practical Independence Embedding budgeting, cooking, and healthcare navigation into everyday support, so skills become habits.

4. Consistent Relationships Small, skilled teams that stay consistent, because trust doesn’t grow in turnover.

5. Community Belonging Connecting young people to local clubs, activities, and volunteering to build confidence and social identity.

Every milestone achieved before 18 makes the transition into adulthood less traumatic — and more sustainable.

A Moment That Stays With Us

One young person arrived at Oasis after two years out of education and frequent placement changes. With consistent routines, patient support, and gentle boundaries, they began attending college within six months and are now completing a Level 2 vocational course. Progress like this isn’t luck; it’s what happens when young people finally feel safe enough to believe in themselves.

Why Policy Still Matters

Even though most 16–18s don’t yet claim Universal Credit or PIP, the systems they’ll inherit are being shaped now.If policy reform doesn’t include investment in trauma-informed supported accommodation, the barriers the YMCA identified will simply start earlier and cut deeper.

Preventing dependency means funding preparation, giving young people the emotional and practical readiness to thrive in adulthood, not just survive it.

As the Welsh Government develops its next youth homelessness and transition strategy, these realities must sit at the centre: early intervention isn’t optional, it’s essential.

Building Futures, Not Just Fixing Problems

At Oasis Care, success doesn’t begin with a job offer, it begins with a young person feeling safe enough to dream.That’s where the cycle of dependency begins to break: not in a policy document, but in a quiet kitchen, a daily routine, or a conversation that rebuilds trust.

We can’t do this alone.True independence requires collaboration, between care providers, colleges, employers, and commissioners who understand that belonging is the first step toward employability.

Together, we can make supported accommodation a launchpad for life, not just a place to wait for adulthood. 💜

Join the Conversation

We welcome partnership with commissioners, educators, and community organisations who share our goal, to make supported accommodation a launchpad for independence, not just a safety net.

📧 referrals@oasiscareukgroup.com

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References

• YMCA (2023) – Breaking Barriers to Work: Removing obstacles for young people in supported housing. Published August 2023. Available online

• Department for Education (DfE) & StatsWales (2025) – Care Leaver Outcomes and EET Statistics: October 2025 Update.

• Welsh Government (2024) – Housing Support Grant Guidance and Funding Allocations 2024–2025. View on GOV.WALES

• Jobs Growth Wales+ (2024) – Programme Overview and Impact Evaluation. View on GOV.WALES

• Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 – Welsh Government legislation guiding transition planning for young people.

• StatsWales (2024) – Children Receiving Care and Support: Placement Stability and Transitions Data. View on StatsWales.gov.wales