Supporting diverse young people to have the knowledge, skills, and network to pursue and achieve their career potential.

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About our School Business Mentoring for 14-18 year old students

Career Accelerator offers students from diverse groups access 1-to-1 mentorship from professionals working with some of the biggest, most influential or fastest growing companies in the professional world.

Over the course of our programme, students will discuss areas such as career opportunities available within professional sectors, writing personal statements, creating a great CV and interview skills. As the mentorship is entirely personalised, students can decide the areas they would like to focus on. And all of our mentors are trained in how to provide great mentorship, and are provided resources to support them.

See our latest programme survey results.

If you have any questions about joining the programme feel free to book a call with Career Accelerator’s Youth Programme Manager Jhanay Otto here.

Why our Schools Programme exists for young people

You are 60% more likely to have a professional job if you are from a higher income background.

State of the Nation (2021)

67% of girls aged 11-21 think that women do not have the same chances as men.

Gender Equality Roadmap (2019)

The employment rate for ethnic minority individuals is 13% lower than for white individuals.

Race in the Workplace (2017)

8 top schools had as many Oxbridge acceptances as another 2894 schools and colleges across the UK put together.

Sutton Trust (2018)

27% of all CEOs are privately educated.

Social Mobility Commission (2019)

Over the course of our programme, students will work towards the following objectives:

  • Learn more about career opportunities in professional sectors.
  • Make informed subject choices for their post-16 and post-18 options.
  • Develop realistic and ambitious career goals and learn the steps to achieve these.
  • Develop their interpersonal skills by working with an adult working in professional sectors.
  • Build their professional network.

How our Schools Programme works

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Promotion, application and interviews

We promote to at least one year group with an assembly, we will then share a link to our Surveymonkey application. Every student who applies will be offered a group interview.

woman sitting and talking in a group setting

Kick-Off Workshop

The first one-hour workshop focuses on the benefits of mentoring, the skills needed to be a great mentee and setting goals.

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3 1-hour mentoring sessions

Students have 3 one-hour virtual mentoring sessions with their mentor. We ask for some flexibility with timings so that they can be adjusted to meet mentor and mentee availability.

male and female standing in front of students in workshop scenario

Reflection Workshop

The final one-hour workshop encourages students to consider what they have learned from their mentor, reflect on their own engagement in the sessions, and plan what they will do in the future.

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Alumni Network

All students will have the opportunity to join our alumni network where they can receive post program support such as additional mentoring and work experience opportunities.

How the Career Accelerator programme achieves the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance:

Learning from career and labour market information:

Career Accelerator focuses on preparing students for jobs in professional sectors. The employers who deliver the content in our programmes come from industries which are experiencing a growth in job creation and market size.

Encounters with Employers and Employees:

The mentoring is designed to demystify what it’s like working in different areas of professional sectors. Career Accelerator is delivered by professional employers who have experience in their respective sectors.

A Stable Careers Programme:

Career Accelerator delivers a stable career programme across the course of one school term providing workshops and mentoring to ensure that students are receiving multiple methods of career support and that this is not done on an arbitrary basis.

Addressing the needs of each pupil:

Career Accelerator provides the students with personalised mentorship led by employees working in professional sectors, who they collaborate with to identify their career interests, build realistic and ambitious career goals and make steps to achieve these.

Personal Guidance:

Students will receive personal guidance to do with career planning during the mentoring sessions. The purpose of the mentoring is to help students reflect on their interests and strengths, learn about career planning and goal setting and develop realistic goals and a plan of action to achieve these.

The impact of our programme

Our latest post-programme survey results 2022.

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91% of students agreed that the Career Accelerator Programme was useful to help them improve their understanding of professional careers.

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94% of students agreed that the Career Accelerator program was useful in helping them consider their future educational and career opportunities.

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86% of students surveyed agreed that the Career Accelerator programme was useful in helping them feel more confident in interacting with professional adults.

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82% of students said that their mentors were useful in mentoring them in line with their expectations.

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88% of the students surveyed said that they would recommend the programme to a friend.

Where are they now?

See where our mentees are now and read more about their Career Accelerator experience.

CASE STUDIES

Feedback from our Mentors & Mentees

It was very hard to choose where to do my further education but now that I had experience with my mentor, I can finally choose where I want to do my further studies. I now believe that STEM is very important when it comes to picking a career.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sufyaan

Mentored by Mark at Just Eat Takeaway

Before Career Accelerator I had a rough understanding of what I want to do in the future but now I feel I know specifically what goals I should be setting and what I need to do to get to them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pola

Mentored by Bruna at Just Eat Takeaway

The best part about the Career Accelerator programme was speaking with Didi. She was polite and honest and gave a personal insight on what it’s like to be a lawyer whilst assuring me that studying law is not the be all and end all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arwa

Mentored by Didi at Wise

Career Accelerator allowed me to come out of my shell and get me ready for life post A-levels. The advice I received I found was very beneficial from someone who does exactly what I aspire to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maria

Mentored by Adnan at Wise

My mentor made me consider each subject and what I want to do after school. I had assumed there were limited options but was grateful to find that there are many more options than just college then university. She actively helped me achieve goals like searching for colleges and pointed out strengths I didn’t know I had.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriella

Mentored by Hannah at Pearson

I gained a better understanding of the career that I would like to pursue in the future as well as interview techniques and information about part time jobs. I know what I want to achieve in the future after mentoring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zunaira

Mentored by Stacey at Pearson

What our mentees are saying

See all of our video testimonials.

What our mentees are saying

See all of our video testimonials.

Some captured moments

From our events, workshops, assemblies and mentoring sessions.

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The businesses and organisations we work with