Young Scots leaving care should be guaranteed either a training place or a “real workplace opportunity”, the Scottish Liberal Democrat leader has said.
Alex Cole-Hamilton will use his speech at his party conference on Saturday to set out his plans, insisting it would show young people who are “often ignored” that “they are loved”.
The call comes some 10 years on from former first minister Nicola Sturgeon announcing an independent review of how children in care are treated.
But Mr Cole-Hamilton will tell his party’s supporters that a decade on, “thousands of children have grown up in care and not seen any difference”.
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader will tell his party conference in Edinburgh: “More than 5,000 young people have already grown up and left the care system since The Promise was first made. They deserved better.”
He will say that the state has a “special responsibility” towards children and young people who are in care “to give them the best chance to be everything they can be, with stable, lifelong, and loving relationships they can rely on”.
He will also point to the importance of the “pivotal” moment when young people leave the care system, saying at this point the professionals who have been supporting them can “disappear”.
The Scottish Lib Dem leader will say this why he is “calling for a job guarantee for care-experienced young people”.
I want to show Scotland’s care-experienced young people, so often ignored, that the Liberal Democrats are on their side. And that they are loved
Mr Cole-Hamilton will say he wants a “guarantee of a traineeship or a real workplace opportunity for everyone at the point that they leave care”.
Speaking about those youngsters leaving the system, he will say: “Let’s help them into jobs which suit them. Let’s get employers excited about working with them.
“Let’s give them real hands-on experience, mentoring and colleagues who’ll look out for them.”
This will show that while “they may not have had the best start in life”, they can be given a “better chance at adulthood”.
Mr Cole-Hamilton will say: “We cannot allow young people to age out of care with empty promises.
“I want to show Scotland’s care-experienced young people, so often ignored, that the Liberal Democrats are on their side. And that they are loved.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Scottish Government is delivering The Promise to improve the lives of care-experienced people.
“We have passed landmark legislation, made significant investment in whole-family support and strengthened support for foster and kinship carers. We’ve also invested more than £80 million in a fund to help improve the attainment and wellbeing of care-experienced children and young people.
“However, we know progress is not yet experienced consistently by every child and family – we must work together at a national and local level to drive progress through to 2030.”