A national broadcast | Modern Work Experience: Let’s Make It Work.

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A national broadcast | Modern Work Experience: Let’s Make It Work.

A national broadcast | Modern Work Experience: Let鈥檚 Make It Work.

A high-profile national milestone on modern work experience, convening senior cross-sector leaders through national broadcast and roundtable dialogue to drive shared advocacy and deliver transformative progress for every young person.

Our national symposium, generously hosted by Linklaters, convened 100 senior education and business leaders and drew 3,000+ online registrations, establishing a defining national moment to advance shared understanding on modern work experience. The event set out a clear ambition: demystify the evolving work experience landscape shaped by government policy ambition, and galvanise cross-sector support behind pathways that work for learners, especially those furthest removed from opportunity. 听

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Key insights听

One size doesn鈥檛 fit all; every student and employer is different, reinforcing the need for flexible, inclusive work experience models.
Growing demand for work experience underlines a knowledge gap: young people must first understand听what opportunity looks like in their own region, including priority sectors and emerging skills needs.
Greater collaboration across government, businesses, and schools and colleges is key to simplifying how organisations engage with work experience, supported through 糖心Vlog that act as trusted access points for employers ready to step in but not always sure where to start.
Careers and employability can鈥檛 sit with one leader alone 鈥� every teacher, every subject and every workplace encounter matters in skills development.听

Panel highlights听

A spotlight on initiatives like KPMG鈥檚 Open Doors Programme showed the power of structured employer engagement, particularly for harder-to-reach students.听
Regional voices from Three Spires Trust and Uptree emphasised avoiding career stereotypes (e.g., assuming healthcare equals only clinical roles), and embedding oracy, teamwork, digital literacy and human-centric skills into the learner journey.听
Strategy leads stressed leveraging the full network of local investments to create cohesive, agile careers support that opens doors for the long term, not by postcode, but by intentional, mission-driven design.听

The shared vision听

The event shaped a collective ambition where:听

Work experience is unique, meaningful and inclusive听
Skills are intentionally developed, not tokenistic or compliance-led听
Young people understand their local labour market and pathways听
Schools, employers and civic bodies work in aligned partnership听
The system becomes simpler to access, navigate and scale听

What鈥檚 next听

Join our national movement leading the transition to modern work experience. Pledge your support and find out how to get involved here. Let's make it work | 糖心Vlog and Enterprise Company.

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Modern Work Experience: Let's Make It Work.

If you missed the broadcast, you can catch up on demand.

Let's make it work

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Meet the panel

Olly Newton - Chair

Executive Director of the Edge Foundation

Olly spent 12 years in the Department for Education working on policies including 14-19 diplomas, raising the participation age and finally as Head of Apprenticeship Strategy. Olly is now Executive Director of the Edge Foundation, where he oversees a programme of primary research, policy development and the Deeper Learning UK practice network. Olly was Specialist Adviser to the House of Lords Committee on Youth Unemployment and a Commissioner on the Independent Assessment Commission. Outside work he volunteers in Scouting and Mountain Rescue.

Oby Bamidele

Chief Executive Officer of Uptree

Uptree is an award-winning social mobility organisation working with employers to create meaningful pathways for young people into the world of work. Uptree’s mission is to ensure every employer offers experiences that demystify careers and help students transition confidently from education to employment, so that no young person is left behind. Drawing on over 15 years of leadership across the youth, social impact, technology, and EdTech sectors, Oby has led transformation and growth in global non-profits and mission-driven start-ups. A qualified psychotherapist, she is also an advocate for inclusive leadership, mental well-being, and equity in the workplace, bringing a people-centred lens to every aspect of her leadership.

Catherine Burnet

Head of Audit for KPMG in the UK

Catherine leads a team of over 6,000 auditors serving companies from large, listed corporates to family-owned businesses and across the full spectrum of sectors. Prior to this, she was Regional Chair for KPMG in Scotland and Edinburgh Office Senior Partner. Catherine has a career spanning more than 30 years with KPMG, working in Edinburgh, London and Chicago. She has worked primarily within the assurance function, providing external and internal audit services, but has also worked on several advisory projects, including IFRS conversion and client money regulations. Catherine has worked with a diverse portfolio of clients in financial services – across banking, asset management and insurance and her experience on large listed companies combined with global audit experience means she has a well-established international network.  She also spent two years on secondment to the US, working on global banking clients. Catherine is a past President of ICAS, having also completed a term as Chair of the Audit Committee and Chair of the Oversight Board there.  She has also served as a member of the Financial Services Advisory Board to Scottish Government and the Council at CBI Scotland.

Nicola McLeod

Director - Education, Work & Skills, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Nicola enjoyed 13 years teaching and leading in three secondary schools across Greater Manchester, with a strong focus on teaching and learning. Nicola went on to spend a short time working in Salford, supporting the Local Authority to deliver on 14-19 Diploma implementation, and developed the raising of the participation age strategy, continuing her drive to improve outcomes for all young people. Nicola spent time working for New Economy, developing a sub-regional approach to youth participation, including a strong focus on levelling up access for young people to high-quality careers education, advice, and guidance and leading on innovative practice and delivery. Nicola now works as Director for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s Education, Work and Skills Team, leading work on the implementation of the Devolution Trailblazer Deal for post-16 including Devolved Adult Skills Funding, oversight GM's new mandate for an all-age careers strategy and enabling the development of flexible place-based employment support delivery. In the last year Nicola has been leading on the development and design of the Mayoral ambition for an integrated technical education city-region and the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate.

Emily Verow

CEO of Three Spires Trust

Emily is a creative, well-qualified and experienced educationalist. Emily graduated with a First Class honours degree, before completing a Masters degree in Educational Leadership. A teacher for all her professional life prior to joining the Trust in 2021; her six years as an Executive Head leading both primary and secondary schools served as the perfect preparation for her present role as Trust CEO. Emily is deeply committed to ensuring that all young people have access to high-quality educational experiences that inspire and empower them. She is a passionate advocate for innovative approaches to education, recognizing that the needs of students are constantly evolving. Emily actively contributes to re-imagining educational provision, focusing on equipping students with the skills and knowledge they need to thrive in an ever-changing world. Her vision involves creating dynamic learning environments that foster curiosity, critical thinking, and resilience, preparing today’s students to be the leaders and problem-solvers of tomorrow. Her dedication drives impactful change within the education sector.