Employer Engagement

What We Do And How

I bring extensive experience in building strong, sustainable relationships with both strategic and local employers to create meaningful opportunities for students across a wide range of educational settings.

I have supported mainstream secondary schools, SEND schools and PRUs to design and deliver high-quality employer engagement that is inclusive, realistic and impactful. This includes developing bespoke work experience programmes, employer-led projects, workplace visits and curriculum-linked activities that help students understand the world of work and see future opportunities as achievable.

For SEND schools, I have worked closely with staff and employers to set up tailored work experience programmes, incorporating carefully planned visits, employer projects and preparation activities that build confidence, employability skills and aspiration.

Within mainstream secondary schools, I have designed innovative approaches such as Workplace Safaris, offering students who were unable to secure traditional work experience access to a wider range of employer visits.

These experiences were supported by structured projects and classroom learning, ensuring clear links between the curriculum and the workplace while broadening students’ understanding of career pathways and local labour market opportunities.

I have also delivered bespoke employer visits for smaller groups of students in PRUs, working with local businesses to make careers tangible and relatable. These visits focused on helping students understand job roles, workplace expectations and the idea of “seeing opportunities” as a realistic part of their future.

A key strength of my work is connecting employers directly to the curriculum. I collaborate with businesses to co-design projects that support subject learning while raising awareness of careers and pathways linked to those subjects.

I have been instrumental in establishing and delivering Aspirations Evenings for mainstream schools, successfully engaging over 40 employers and creating valuable, long-term links for teaching staff.

This has included curriculum-enhancing activities such as DT workplace visits and the delivery of a whole-school STEM day in partnership with National Grid.

My approach ensures employer engagement is:

Meaningful and inclusive
Aligned to Gatsby Benchmarks
Embedded within the curriculum
Accessible to all learners
Sustainable and valuable for both schools and employers

I work collaboratively with careers leaders and schools to create employer engagement that inspires students, strengthens curriculum delivery and builds lasting relationships with the world of work.