Who
We Support
The Support
We Provide
Our
Mentoring Programmes
How our
Mentoring Works
Who We Support
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SCHOOLS
14-18 year old students with a focus on girls and ethnic minority students from lower socio economic backgrounds.
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LGBT+
18-30 year old LGBT+ young people.
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NEURODIVERGENT & DISABLED
18-30 year old Neurodivergent and Disabled people.
The Support We Provide
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:
1:1 Virtual and in-person mentoring and other career support in collaboration with our business partners.
FOR OUR BUSINESSES PARTNERS:
Employee volunteering, social impact opportunities and inter-company collaboration.
How our Mentoring Works
- We recruit engaged mentors from across your business and employee resource groups. Mentees are selected through interviews & staff recommendations.
- We run a dynamic and informative 2 hour training session for mentors and mentees.
- Mentees are matched with a professional mentor that shares their career aspirations, hobbies, interests or demographics.
- 3 x 1 hour mentoring sessions focused on career options, CV writing, interview skills, and finding top jobs and progressing in the workplace.
Select the relevant button for a full outline of each of our programmes.
WHO WE SUPPORT
- 14-18 year old students with a focus on girls and ethnic minority students from lower socio economic backgrounds.
- 18-30 year old LGBT+ young people.
- 18-30 year old Neurodivergent and Disabled young people.
THE SUPPORT WE PROVIDE
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE:
1:1 Virtual and in-person mentoring and other career support in collaboration with our business partners.
FOR OUR BUSINESSES PARTNERS:
Employee volunteering, social impact opportunites and inter-company collaboration.
OUR MENTORING PROGRAMMES
Career Accelerator runs 3 mentoring programmes:
HOW OUR MENTORING WORKS
- We recruit engaged mentors from across your business and employee resource groups. Mentees are selected through interviews & staff recommendations.
- We run a dynamic and informative 2 hour training session for mentors and mentees. Mentees are matched with a professional mentor that shares their career aspirations, hobbies, interests or demographics.
- 3 x 1 hour mentoring sessions focus on career options, CV writing, interview skills, and finding top jobs and progressing in the workplace.
We help young people see themselves in a leading company
Learn
about careers in professional sectors.
Develop
ambitious, realistic career goals.
Build
their professional network.
Make
informed career choices.
Enhance
confidence and aspirations.
Sam
Sam was mentored by Cormac at VirginMediaO2 in 2022 and is a Future Trainee at Clifford Chance.
“I took part in the mentorship scheme for LGBTQ+ people in my final year of University. At the time, I was struggling to find a place in the world outside of St Andrews and how to market myself in a turbulent job market shaken up by COVID-19.
I lacked confidence as an LGBTQ+ person, with the rise in hate and discrimination which robbed me of much of my joy and pride.
Career Accelerator helped me when I needed it the most, and they could do the same for you. Mayur Gupta and Rebecca Lewis were amazing in making a daunting process feel manageable, enabling me to thrive post-university.
They continue to provide support and guidance even now. Equally, I count myself incredibly lucky they partnered hme up with Cormac Connolly. As a mentor, his patience and insight provided a much-needed voice of reason. I still maintain that without his help in how to tackle case study interviews, I would never have made it as far as I did in my various job.”
Amy
Economics Undergraduate at Lancaster University.
“Career Accelerator showed me what the inside of a big company really looks like. Lisa helped me to see the relevance of STEM, and the real world application appealed to me. It was exciting because I could suddenly see myself doing a job like cyber security.
Lisa shared similar interests so we always had lots to talk about! I built my confidence which helped me to focus on my studies and career research.
Through Career Accelerator I’ve gotten access to career opportunities that I wouldn’t otherwise have had. I wouldn’t have thought to choose the same A-Levels, which is crazy to think about! I went from feeling like Maths was hard to choosing to do Advanced Maths at A-Level. I’m so glad I got that opportunity.”
Tanya
Tanya was mentored by Amy at Cisco in 2021.
“I was a Career Accelerator mentee in a work experience program, when I was in year 11. Back then, I wasn’t entirely sure where my career was going, or exactly where I’d see myself working.
The work experience positioned me in a better direction. I realised that I wouldn’t mind having a corporate job as the hours were convenient, and I’d be around people which could teach me things and help me develop as a professional as well as an individual. The work experience also made me realise that I would like to work in the finance sector. I am looking forward to taking place in more Career Accelerator programs.
Will
Administrator for the Ministry of Justice, mentored by Sophie from Trainline.
“I had a brilliant experience with Career Accelerator! For me, it came at a time that I was coming out of cancer treatment and I was struggling to find a direction I wanted to take my life in. I didn’t have the qualifications I expected to, and the direction I was heading in didn’t feel right for me anymore. Meeting with a mentor who had similar symptoms to me, understood being disabled in the workplace, and knowing the impact, meant a lot to me. More than anything, it helped me revise my plans and gain the confidence I needed moving forward. From the beginning to the end, I went from having no clue to being ready to apply for jobs, and that was more than I could have asked for.
I got on incredibly with my mentor- I really didn’t expect how similar we would be! She struggled with the same fatigue symptoms as me, and shared my aspirations about having a good career and feeling successful. She supported me in breaking down what I wanted from my career, where I was, what I needed to get there, and helped give me advice to build confidence regarding each of those parts. I’ve felt very grateful for how much she seemed to care, and the support she was willing to give.“
What our mentees are saying
See all of our video testimonials.
Video Testimonial - Parineeta
Video Testimonial - Mohamed
Video Testimonial - William
Video Testimonial - Tanya
Video Testimonial - Charlotte
What our mentees are saying
See all of our video testimonials.
Video Testimonial - Parineeta
Career Accelerator – Core Package
Benefits
Programme delivery:
- Up to 20 mentoring places. Mentoring places can be allocated over 3 terms during the year. Mentoring places can be allocated across our Schools, LGBT+ and Neurodiversity and Disability mentoring programmes.
- Managing mentor and speaker recruitment.
- Training sessions for mentors and speakers.
- Opportunity to organise 1 school focused career workshop at your offices.
Impact report and marketing:
- Personalised impact report on the difference your business has made to unrepresented, diverse young people. Opportunity for CA to collaborate with your marketing team at promoting the work your business has done externally.
Promoting job opportunities:
- Opportunity to advertise your job opportunities to young people / professionals in our alumni network aged around 16-30 years old, every quarter over a year.
Professional networking and development:
- Invitations to virtual ERG network lead roundtables every quarter with other businesses over a year.
- Opportunity to sponsor / host one in person business ERG roundtable.
Some captured moments
From our events, workshops, assemblies and mentoring sessions.
The businesses and organisations we work with
