Skills shortage and lack of experience are putting a brake on economic growth, says social mobility charity, Futures for All

o Too many school leavers lack direction or are unaware of job opportunities due to lack of exposure to the workplace whilst at school

o A new name and rallying call to fix an unjust system from one of the country’s largest social mobility charities, Futures for All

o The charity launches a national, free-to-use work experience finder, to bring schools and employers together to help young people access real world opportunities

Half of state-educated students are missing out on meaningful work experience whilst at school, compounding the national skills shortage and putting a brake on economic growth. As a result, too many pupils leave secondary school ill-prepared for the realities of work, says one of the country’s largest social mobility charities, Futures for All.

The charity, formerly known as Speakers for Schools, today issued a rallying call to policy makers, employers and schools to help fix an unjust system. The call comes as Futures for All launches a national, free-to-use work experience finder, to bring schools and employers together to help young people access real work opportunities.

Nick Brook, Chief Executive of leading social mobility charity, Futures for All, said “Despite growing awareness around the value of early exposure to the world of work, half of state-educated students still leave school without having set foot in the workplace. Too few work experience opportunities exist and access to them is too often reliant on who your parents know.

“And whilst there is near universal agreement about the need to open-up workplace opportunities to all – and a government commitment to do so – progress towards this, as yet, remains painfully slow. Too many young people are shut out of opportunities before their careers even begin. Work experience must no longer be a privilege for the few — it should be a national guarantee.

“As we aim to rebuild and adapt to a rapidly changing labour market, we can’t afford to leave half the country’s young people disconnected from the world of work. Failing to act means wasting potential, deepening inequality, and weakening our productivity and competitiveness on the global stage.”

Launch of the first national, free-to-use work experience finder

To help plug the gap between schools and employers, Futures for All have launched a national, free-to-use work experience finder, to make it easier for young people to find opportunities that interest them in their local areas.

Following a multi-million-pound investment, funded by the Law Family Charitable Foundation, the new online ‘portal’ enables any employer around the country offering work experience to market these opportunities to school pupils, reaching a larger pool of talent and interest. Young people accessing the platform will be able to explore a wide range of opportunities to expand their understanding and apply to gain real world experience.

Brook continued, “Today we’ve launched a free to use national platform to help bridge the gap between employers and young people. Having built partnerships with most secondary schools and colleges over the last 15 years as Speakers for Schools, we know that schools are crying out for a simple solution to direct young people to worthwhile opportunities. Our new work experience finder will help connect those employers already offering great work experience programmes to more young people and schools.

Rallying call to government and employers

Enabling fairer access to experiences is an important step forward, but together we need to do more. Progress towards our goal of ensuring all young people have access to work experience is too slow. We need more employers to throw open their doors to young people and for government to ensure schools to have the funding and staff required to run high quality careers programmes. We can provide the support and guidance for any employer wanting to play their part. We’re ready and willing to help. Rebranding from Speakers for Schools to Futures for All is more than just a name change, it is a rallying call to close the gap in opportunity, for good.

Backed by a National Coalition

Futures For All is supported by a growing coalition of Social Mobility Partners, including Tata Consultancy Services, NHS, Cisco, Lloyds Bank, Equifax, Capita, Boots, and Reed Smith — all committed to building a future where access to opportunity isn’t shaped by background. -ENDS-

Our Story, Your Voice

We’re asking our partners and supporters to help us reach further by sharing a LinkedIn post – and resharing ours – to champion Futures For All and amplify our mission.

To make it easy, we’ve prepared everything you need:

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For media enquiries, interviews or images, please contact: press@futuresforall.org

Notes to Editors

● Visit the new website at: www.futuresforall.org

● Futures For All is the new name for Speakers for Schools, founded in 2010 by Robert Peston.

● The charity combines inspirational talks and meaningful work experience to support young people in state education across the UK.

● Young people consistently face higher unemployment than adults, even during economic recoveries, due to limited experience and job networks. This persistent youth unemployment exacerbates economic scarring—lost skills, reduced future earnings, and long-term output loss: https://www.oecd.org/en/topics/sub-issues/youth-employment-and-social-policies.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com 

● A comprehensive Skills England study of 743 employers reveals that Critical skills shortages are leaving huge numbers of jobs unfilled across key sectors, with some industries facing a complete breakdown in their ability to recruit the workers Britain desperately needs: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/skills-england-skills-for-growth-and-opportunity

● Future for All research shows that young people from more privileged backgrounds and those with graduate parents appear more confident and adept at navigating their way through the education system into careers: https://35143100-9cc9-4ef3-b229-e734a6120144.usrfiles.com/ugd/1b2a28_d1489ad72acf439bbfd1217e90468dad.pdf

● Full case studies and statistics available on request.