24th January 2025 Record number of students supported in 2023/24

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Read the introduction to our 2023/24 annual review from our Chair, Sir David Bell and CEO, Jenni Anderson

Read our full annual report and financial statements for the past year here.

It’s made me think a lot more about my future...

At The Talent Foundry, our mission is simple: to help young people discover their amazing strengths and inspire them to dream big. After 15 years of delivering engaging employability programmes, we know that the key to unlocking social mobility is a shared purpose in partnership.

Social mobility is influenced by a range of factors - like access to quality education, job opportunities, and support networks - which is why we work together with schools, businesses, and local communities to meet local needs.

This year alone, we’ve empowered 64,988 young people across 32 programmes, in collaboration with 21 businesses and organisations, supporting schools in over 140 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales.

Our sixth form is in a deprived area where many students lack confidence. Track to the Future had a huge impact, building communication and teamwork skills. Students left believing in themselves and their ability to succeed.

Location, location, location

As we continue to evolve our programmes, we focus on the local challenges that impact social mobility, such as local labour market. We know that the likelihood of having a different life outcome to that of your parents is grounded in where you live and the opportunities that are close to you.

This means becoming socially mobile is easier in London than it is in the North East or South West. Though we started in London, 88% of the students we work with attend schools outside the capital.

In partnership with schools, employers, and volunteers on our place-based programmes, we’re bridging the gap between school and work for many young people. We want to help reduce the number of young people at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment, or training), which, for those from disadvantaged backgrounds is 26% of 18-24 year olds.

From interviews with teachers we found that programmes had reinvigorated pupils’ interest in attending school regularly and improved their self-worth, positively affecting their behaviour in class.

Students have become more focused on their education and future. A parent gave feedback that he has been delighted in the change in his daughter’s attitude towards school and has seen her transform in confidence and talking more about her future.

You can go far

When we launched our intensive programme in Middlesbrough two years ago, the Tees Valley motto, ‘Stay local, go far,’ really resonated with us. It perfectly captured our mission: to connect young people with inspiring role models who’ve made their mark close to home.

Volunteers share their journeys and how they developed the skills that businesses value today. It’s these real, relatable stories from volunteers with ‘squiggly careers’ - people who didn’t know what they wanted to do at 15 - that make our sessions so inspiring.

This year, 1,813 people volunteered with us, many of whom said it opened their eyes to the barriers young people face, while also enhancing their own skills and confidence.

Partnering to nurture young talent doesn’t just benefit the students - it brings real value to businesses too. Companies that champion social mobility see 1.4 times higher profits than their competitors, thanks to the diverse talent they attract.

Taking part has helped me develop my own skills, like giving feedback. Plus, I found that what students were learning was really relevant to my line of work.

Campaigning for a brighter future

This year, as the UK went to the polls, we reignited our Inspire US programme, empowering over 200 young people to create and deliver social action campaigns in their communities. Following a series of masterclasses in political campaigning, over 73 teams across 38 schools built a social media presence, held focus groups, engaged MPs and local councillors, and gained press coverage to enact change in their local community.

Ten teams presented their campaigns at M&G plc headquarters, with four teams earning the opportunity to attend Campaign College in Washington DC in November 2024 alongside the US presidential election.

The campaign themes were incredibly diverse, with the top 10 covering: child poverty, climate change, potholes and road safety, sports in youth clubs, domestic violence, unconscious bias in healthcare, the cost-of-living crisis, youth support, reduction of vape use, and period poverty.

We have most enjoyed having the chance to engage with the community and hear of their opinions and experiences and meeting with our local MP in order to have the chance to make a change.

Read, Inspire US student, Kavya's Schools Week OpEd

New initiatives

We expanded our work in Blackpool with Barclays LifeSkills, the Skills for Life programme in Rochdale with M&G plc, and partnered with the NHS in three English regions to highlight healthcare careers.

With Barclays we also expanded our LifeSkills provisions into primary schools in areas including Middlesbrough and Bury.

Building on the strong local relationships we’ve nurtured in the North East through our place-based initiatives, we partnered with the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) to deliver a series of workshops in Middlesbrough, working with students experiencing low motivation and those struggling to reach their full potential.

With the University of Birmingham, we provided employability and application support to underserved PhD applicants.

We also launched Track to the Future with the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB), bringing exciting career opportunities in the rail industry to the forefront.

Thank you, educators!

It’s no secret that schools in the UK face tough challenges. We’re so grateful to the teachers who continue to invite us into their schools, allowing us to support students with skills development, careers guidance, and employer connections.

We’re proud that 95% of educators agree that our programmes help fulfil their careers advice and guidance (CEIAG) requirements.

We couldn’t do this work without the commitment of educators. Despite budget pressures, reduced funds available for transport costs, and teacher recruitment and retention. Their efforts, alongside our programmes, help shape brighter futures for students across the country.

In our recent Ofsted inspection, we highlighted the work we do with The Talent Foundry as a key part of the careers and aspirations opportunities we provide to our students. They were highly complementary about the comprehensive career opportunities we offer, noting that they are ‘second to none’.

Read Forest Oak School's experience of working with The Talent Foundry

On behalf of The Talent Foundry Board of Trustees, we extend our heartfelt thanks to teachers, partners, volunteers, and our amazing facilitators who ignite talent every day. Together, we’re making a real difference.

If you’re reading this and feel inspired to work with us - as an educator, programme partner, or sponsor - there’s a place for you. As Judah McPherson, Aspirations Lead at Thomas Knyvett College says:

I’ll go as far as saying if we could offer a Talent Foundry session every week for every single student, we would.