Some 30 young carers and 15 companies came together for the Young Adult Carers Futures 2018 event at Gloucester Skillzone.

The event, sponsored by Midcounties Co-operative and hosted by Gloucestershire Young Carers, was the second annual opportunity for young carers to spend time with representatives from a host of businesses including engineering, retail, teaching, cyber security, fitness, social care and police and law.

Companies attending this year's event included: Midcounties Co-operative retail and travel, Spirax Sarco, Kohler EMEA, Invinsec, Gloucestershire Police, Thomson and Bancks, Proud to Care, Ramsey PT and Cheltenham Borough Homes.

Workshops were run by the University of Gloucestershire, St James's Place, Sarah Jane Griffiths and Prospect Training. And volunteers for the day included staff from Ermin Fosse in Cirencester.

Young adult carers (16 to 24) face a range of challenges including experiencing isolation from their friends due to caring responsibilities, challenges in committing to education or training and difficulties in making the decision to stay at home with loved ones or leave to follow their aspirations in education or careers.

Many of them choose to stay in Gloucestershire and have a wealth of skills to offer local employers - life skills gained through their 'adult-sized' responsibilities in their families, caring skills and an approach to life that is often mature.

One young carer said: "I found the whole day really interesting. I'm thinking of going into law and I learnt a lot from the university presentation. Also I learnt that you don't necessarily need a degree to get into working in law, the chat with Thomson and Bancks solicitors was really helpful."

Leah of Midcounties Co-operative Travel said: "It was a fantastic day. I just wish we could have had more time with the young people to chat with them about the challenges they feel they face going into work. They have so much to offer and many of them are already hard working and committed to succeeding."

Tye Browne and Kris Tyreman, who have been young carers for most of their lives, volunteered at the event and supported the youth work and marketing team in managing the logistics and managing the social media.

Tye got to work alongside the photographer covering the event, Antony Thompson of Thousand Word Media. Workshops in the morning included how to show confidence, apprenticeships, university education and money matters.