Press

Latest News and Press Releases and Founders4Schools in the media.

Founders4Schools in the media

City AM 14 Nov 2017 - The solution to the talent crisis rests with our own businesses

Talent is the number one issue keeping Britain’s scaleups and startups awake at night. Thousands of our fast-growth companies admit that they are being held back by the skills gap and this is presenting a real threat to our place on the world stage.

CBI 9 Nov 2017 - Sir Tom Hunter calls for urgent upskilling of youth for fast-changing global economy

Sir Tom Hunter joined CBI Scotland Director Hugh Aitken and Founders4Schools CEO Sherry Coutu at an event looking at how business-education interactions could be improved to deliver better results for young people and employers.

Wired 30 Oct 2017 - Sherry Coutu on how to succeed as a serial entrepreneur

She doesn't court the spotlight, but Sherry Coutu has quietly forged a reputation as one of the UK's leading performers in tech. The 53-year-old Canadian first made a splash with her financial-services platform Interactive Investor, which she founded in 1994 and sold in 2001.

Management today 14 Nov 2017 - How to solve a problem like work experience Read more at http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/solve-problem-work-experience/future-business/article/1450165#giDwrtGFE2ZPGqIz.99

Work experience is supposed to be a vital bridge between the worlds of education and employment, connecting businesses to talent and helping young people figure out what they want to do with their lives. In practice, it’s often little more than an extended lesson in tea-making, data entry and envelope stamping. Read more at http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/solve-problem-work-experience/future-business/article/1450165#giDwrtGFE2ZPGqIz.99

Sky News 14 Nov 2017 - Founders4Schools Chairman Sherry Coutu CBE Joins Sky News To Discuss The Talent Crisis

Founders4Schools Founder and Chairman Sherry Coutu CBE today discussed the growing skills crisis with Sky News presenters Sarah Jane Mee and Jonathan Samuels.

The Scotsman 14 Sep 2017 - Double win for Stirling in Founders4Schools awards

Efforts to improve the job prospects of young people and encourage more children to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects have seen representatives of Stirling Council pick up two accolades.

chronicle live 30 Nov 2017 - New scholarship launched to help young women kick-start their careers

A new scholarship that uses a mobile app to help young women kick-start their careers has launched in Newcastle.

Digital Agenda 17 Jan 2018 - Experience ‘will ready young for future jobs’

Technology will create more jobs than it reduces over our lifetimes – but to navigate the changes that lie ahead young people must gain experience with the businesses creating the tech jobs of the future, the co-founder of LinkedIn told business leaders in London this week. Julian Blake reports.

The Times 25 Jan 2018 - Providing the digital skills that companies seek

Time and again we hear that today’s school-leavers are digital natives. Yet the widening skills gap in the UK workforce reveals that this does not necessarily translate into digital proficiency at work.

FE News 10 Oct 2018 - Founders4Schools awards ceremony celebrates champions of youth employability on Ada Lovelace day

Last night, Founders4Schools celebrated and awarded the role models in its community who are doing the most to connect students of all backgrounds to the vast opportunities within the world of work.

FE News 31 Jan 2018 - The lack of work experience provision is a black mark on the UK’s education system

The power of work experience can’t be overstated. Young people need meaningful interactions with companies if they are to hit the ground running when they take their first steps into the working world. These placements can not only help students to develop workplace skills but also inspire them to find careers they’ll love.

Ayrshire Magazine 12 Mar 2018 - Founders For Schools

A quiet revolution is happening in our schools today and sooner rather than later it won't be quite so quiet...

ICT for education 17 Jun 2016 - Founders4Schools announces new partnership with BBC to support BBC micro:bit campaign

17th June 2016. Founders4Schools (F4S) is partnering with BBC Make it Digital to support the national BBC micro:bit initiative by launching a new nationwide service making it easy for teachers to get tech experts into their classroom to maximise the impact of the technology.

Cambridge News 8 Mar 2016 - International Womens Day: Analysis shows power of women in business

Cambridge angel Sherry Coutu has joined world-leading entrepreneurs and business leaders such as Martha Lane Fox, Joanna Shields, Anya Hindmarch, Neelie Kroes and Reid Hoffman in welcoming a ground-breaking service to celebrate International Women's Day – which is today.

The Sunday Times 11 Apr 2015 - The insider's guide to booming Britain

"A top investor has issued a wake-up call to politicians by mapping star firms in every MP's seat, writes Kiki Loizou". This is the opening to an article on the Sunday times that showcases our LEP and Constituencies tool as the way to bring closing the skills gap nearer the top of politician's agenda and promote this 4% of companies that create 100% of the net new jobs.

The Sunday Times 4 Oct 2015 - Preparing the ground to grow UK start-ups

Our businesses are ready to scale up but the system is holding them back, says angel investor Sherry Coutu.

Scale-up group 18 Feb 2016 - Education the Key to Creating the Business Leaders of Tomorrow

Sherry Coutu CBE was the guest speaker at the 91st Business luncheon organised by the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists at Apothecaries Hall in the City. She chose as her theme the importance and value to the UK economy of closing what Sherry has termed “the Scaleup Gap”. Sherry spoke about her charitable educational initiative Founders4schools, a free nationwide service that allows teachers access to business leaders who will visit classrooms, share their experiences and inspire the students to achieve success themselves. The initiative has three aims: Inspire the Students; Improve subject attainment levels; Increase STEM subject take up.

Cambridge Network 15 Sep 2017 - Founders4Schools celebrates connecting 80,000 young people to 30,000 business leaders

his week, at the incredible new Francis Crick Institute, Founders4Schools celebrated the educators and business leaders who have worked together to connect over 80,000 young people with its nationwide network of more than 30,000 business leaders.

Shiny Shiny 7 Mar 2016 - Companies led by women are most dynamic in UK says new report from Founders4Schools #PLEDGEFORPARITY

New analysis based on open-government and LinkedIn data-sets reveals how companies led by women grow, perform and rank – identifying the fastest-growing and most dynamic women-led businesses across the UK.

WeAreTheCity 7 Mar 2016 - Women-led companies driving force of UK economy, finds report celebrating International Women’s Day

Women-led businesses are leading the charge across the UK, new data has revealed to mark International Women’s Day.  The data revealed that the average business annual turnover is 11,284,634, however women-led average annual turnover stands at 11,719,080.

National Centre for Universities & Business 8 Mar 2016 - Women-led businesses are 'driving force' of UK economy

Sherry Coutu, Martha Lane Fox, Joanna Shields, Anya Hindmarch, Neelie Kroes and Reid Hoffman and are amongst the world-leading entrepreneurs and business leaders welcoming ground-breaking new service to celebrate International Women’s Day. In a global first, new analysis - based on open-government and LinkedIn data-sets - reveals how companies led by women grow, perform and rank - identifying the fastest-growing and most dynamic women-led businesses across the UK.

The Telegraph 8 Mar 2016 - Mapped: the UK's mid-sized businesses run by women

British businesswomen are powering growth at hundreds of the country's medium-sized companies, new data analysis has claimed. There are 762 companies with female leadership that generate revenues of between £1m and £250m and are growing by at least 20pc a year, according to a study by education technology non-profit Founders4Schools, which connects classrooms with local business leaders.

Education Technology 16 Oct 2018 - Youth employability celebrated at Founders4Schools awards

The annual awards welcomed a selection of inspirational women in STEAM to speak at the ceremony at The Francis Crick Institute in London

The Sunday Times 22 Jun 2014 - Secret angel paves the way for our first trillion-dollar company

Sherry Coutu isn’t a fan of TV business shows, but the Canadian investor is vowing to help entrepreneurs in her adopted country win the tech revolution

LSE Entrepreneurship blog 10 Feb 2015 - The Impact of Scale-ups on the Graduate Job Market

In November 2014, LSE Entrepreneurship hosted the launch of Sherry Coutu’s Scale-Up Report, which made recommendations for how government can support rapidly growing companies. Ibrahim Maiga, LSE alumnus and Director of the Birkbeck Enterprise Hub, found out more about how scale-ups affect the graduate job market.

BBC 24 Apr 2017 - Pupils given chance to dine with Barack Obama

Entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter is giving Scottish school pupils the chance to compete for a table at a dinner attended by former US president Barack Obama in Edinburgh.

Business Weekly 26 Jan 2017 - Initiative to boost job opportunities for UK students

Cambridge serial entrepreneur Sherry Coutu has launched a new app-based initiative to smash through social mobility barriers and open up job opportunities for thousands more UK students – including those from low income families or disadvantaged backgrounds.

Business Weekly 6 Mar 2017 - Women-led businesses a driving force in UK economy

Cambridge entrepreneur Sherry Coutu today reveals groundbreaking figures underlining that women-led businesses are a major driving force in the UK economy with a huge payback in terms of jobs and revenue.

We Are the City 6 Mar 2017 - Female business leaders open London Stock Exchange

70 female business leaders are set to open the London Stock Exchange this morning in celebration of International Women’s Day, taking place this week.

Isle of Wight County Press 5 Jan 2017 - Teachers Forge Links with Charities

TRAINEE teachers from Teach First have networked with charities and schools. Held at Barclays Bank in Newport, the event featured a presentation of Founders4Schools, an organisation that links schools with businesses. Representatives from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Jamie´s Farm, and The Brilliant Club spoke about their work and explored links with education. Helen O´Connor, south-east and south coast director for Teach First, said: "It was a very successful day and it enabled teachers to network with charities and discuss ways forward and bringing their work into more schools on the IW. "Teach First exists to provide fair education opportunities for all young people."

The Memo 7 Mar 2017 - See Britain’s top female bosses, mapped

Inspiring women are bossing it at business across Britain. Find one near you.

CITY A.M. 21 Mar 2017 - Untapped unicorns: It's time to close the scale-up investment gender gap

Women are increasingly getting to the top of careers in which they were until recently unrepresented. Yet there’s a substantial gap in funding for female founded businesses with ambitions to scale. Untapped Unicorns – a report from the Female Founders Forum released today – looks at what can be done to turn this around.

Digital Agenda 29 Mar 2017 - Coutu leads founder impact quest

This month, F4S won the employment & skills category at DigitalAgenda’s Impact Awards. In our latest video interview, founder Sherry Coutu CBE tells Shivvy Jervis about the impact F4S is making – and what worries keep her up at night.

The Courier 19 Apr 2017 - Inspirational Sherry to share scale up vision

A serial entrepreneur, investor and mentor, she currently chairs the Scale-Up Institute, Founders4Schools and the financial strategy group of the University of Cambridge.

Daily Record 24 Apr 2017 - School kids could meet Barack Obama in Edinburgh

Scottish businessman Sir Tom Hunter is inviting a group of pupils along to Obama’s Hunter Foundation charity speech next month.

The Scottish Sun 24 May 2017 - DINNER WITH OBAMA

Scots businessman Sir Tom Hunter is giving lucky pupils the chance to compete for a table at the event next month

The Sunday Times 30 Jan 2017 - App is just the job

Technology investor Sherry Coutu is set to launch an app that links schoolchildren with local employers — in an effort to tackle a skills crisis that is holding growing companies back.

The Sunday Times 23 Jun 2013 - Charity aims to bring entrepreneurial spirit to schools.

Teachers will be able to book local businessmen and women to visit their schools and spread the entrepreneurial spirit, through a new charity. The programme, founded by Sherry Coutu, an high-profile investor in start-up companies, and launched at the Sunday Times, Festival of Education, will make it easier for schools to arrange for company founders to talk to classes of pupils about their experiences.

The telegraph 13 Sep 2017 - Let’s give a new generation the work skills they need

The UK is facing a serious skills crisis. Hardly a week goes by without this gracing the headlines. Most recently we’ve seen low levels of skills outside of the capital blamed for the nosedive in productivity.

Telegraph 22 Nov 2018 - Work experience is broken and this is how we can fix it

We all remember our first work experience placement. But do we all remember our first work experience placement being meaningful? Did work experience give you genuine insight into what working in that organisation would actually be like? Did it enable you to make an impact on the business whilst you were there? Did it inspire you?

tes 14 Sep 2017 - ‘If a company employs people, it should be working with schools’

This year, less than 1 per cent of students in the UK took an A level in computing and only 15 per cent studied a Stem (science, technology, engineering or maths) subject. Of the students studying IT, only 9.8 per cent were female.

Business matters 18 Sep 2017 - Founders4Schools celebrates connecting 80,000 young people to 30,000 business leaders

The Founders4Schools Judges considered nominations drawn from thousands of educators, business leaders and local government partners who use F4S services to help young people understand the world of work they will enter after school.

Midlands in business 18 Sep 2017 - Founders4Schools celebrates connecting 80,000 young people to 30,000 business leaders at annual awards ceremony

On the 14th September 2017 at the incredible new Francis Crick Institute, Founders4Schools celebrated the educators and business leaders who have worked together to connect over 80,000 young people with its nationwide network of more than 30,000 business leaders.

CBI 31 Aug 2017 - Spotlight on business-education interaction

Scottish pupils are leaving school without the skills required by employers. In a rapidly changing world the skills gap is widening and a lack of skills poses itself as the number one barrier to UK economic growth.

audioboom.com 15 Sep 2017 - LISTEN: Carina Lindars, the Leigh UTC

A teacher from #Kent is leading the way in making hundreds of students employable in #Dartford. Carina Lindars at the #LeighUTC has secured nearing 500 meetings for her students with employers in fields like #technology and #engineering, leading to work experience and apprenticeships. She's just been awarded for her work by the #charity #Founders4Schools.

Evening Standard 22 Sep 2017 - Secrets of my success: LinkedIn's Josh Graff

What do you do? I’m the country manager for LinkedIn UK and I also lead our advertising business across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

audioboom.com 15 Oct 2017 - LISTEN: Carina Lindars, the Leigh UTC

bdaily 4 Oct 2017 - North East Digital Print Giant Wins Esteemed Founders4School Award

The rapidly expanding digital print firm Printed.com has been awarded the ‘Best Workplace Visit’ award by Founders4School as a result of the company’s dedication to inspiring positive career choices for students.

Computer Weekly 4 Oct 2017 - Role models best way to increase diversity, says Most Influential Woman in UK IT 2017 Sherry Coutu

Its founder and executive chairman, Sherry Coutu – the 2017 winner of the Computer Weekly list of the Most Influential Women in UK IT – is a serial entrepreneur who believes in the power of using visible role models to encourage children into higher education and careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (Stem).

BQ live 4 Oct 2017 - NORTH EAST DIGITAL PRINT GIANT WINS ESTEEMED FOUNDERS4SCHOOL AWARD

Digital print firm Printed.com has been awarded the 'Best Workplace Visit' award by Founders4School as a result of the company's dedication to inspiring positive career choices for students.

business weekly 12 Oct 2017 - Disley and Coutu scoop entrepreneur prize double

Cambridge scooped a unique one-two as Darrin Disley and Sherry Coutu were named by Barclays as the UK’s male and female Iconic Entrepreneurs of the Year at the bank’s Entrepreneur Awards last evening.

business weekly 12 Oct 2017 - Disley and Coutu scoop entrepreneur prize double

business weekly 12 Oct 2017 - Disley and Coutu scoop entrepreneur prize double

Forbes.com 29 Nov 2016 - Is The Skills Gap Killing Your Scale-Up? Maybe You Should Go Back To School

Fast-growth businesses are vital to the success of the UK economy. While ambitious startups bootstrap their ideas to the market -with perhaps just a handful of employees on their books – and corporate businesses focus on finding efficiencies and cutting staff, it is the scale-ups who are recruiting and creating jobs.

SHS 6 Jun 2019 - SHS partners with Founders4Schools

We are very pleased to announce our new partnership with Founders4Schools – an organisation which connects business leaders with local schools to increase social mobility.

Business Weekly 31 May 2019 - Champagne at the double for Cambridge woman entrepreneurs

Cambridge duo Sherry Coutu and Poppy Gustafsson scooped major accolades in Veuve Clicquot’s Business Women Awards 2019 at a sparkling event in Kensington last night.

The Sunday Times 20 May 2019 - SOCIAL PURPOSE: THE START-UPS WITH A HEART

Companies with a social conscience are on the rise, proving that profit and purpose can co-exist in the pursuit of success

Financial Times 16 May 2019 - Women and maths — what’s not adding up?

On National Numeracy Day, the great school gender divide and how it multiplies in adult life

Nesta 10 Apr 2019 - Workfinder by Founders4Schools

Founders4Schools’ Workfinder platform enables young people aged 16 to 24 to search and apply for work experience placements in growing businesses, helping to level the playing field for those who do not have parental connections.

100 Women in Finance 13 Mar 2019 - 100 Women in Finance Names Founders4Schools its 2019 UK Philanthropic Beneficiary, to encourage Maths4Girls

LONDON – 11 March 2019 – 100 Women in Finance (“100WF”), a global, practitioner-driven, non-profit organization that serves more than 15,000 professionals in the finance and alternative investment industries, today announces that it will support Founders4Schools’ ‘Maths4Girls’ program as the beneficiary of its 2019 UK philanthropic initiatives.

London Stock Exchange Group 11 Mar 2019 - London Stock Exchange Group Celebrates International Women's Day

To celebrate International Women’s Day, Women’s Network Forum and Founders4Schools participated in London Stock Exchange’s Market Open ceremony today.

Telegraph 11 Mar 2019 - Female-led businesses outside of London grew faster than those in the capital last year, new figures show

An analysis of companies run by women that turned over between £1m and £250m in 2017 details how businesses in the South West had a median growth of 26%, ahead of London-based enterprises which grew at 25%.

Forbes 8 Mar 2019 - Female Role Models Exist. We Just Need To Look Around

One in eight women in the UK wants to start their own business, but when asked what is holding them back, many cite the lack of female role models as a key barrier.

News and Press Releases

16 Jan 2018: OVER 8,000 BUSINESSES COMMIT TO TRANSFORM MILLIONS OF FUTURE CAREERS THROUGH WORK EXPERIENCE

OVER 8,000 BUSINESSES COMMIT TO TRANSFORM MILLIONS OF FUTURE CAREERS THROUGH WORK EXPERIENCE Business leaders gather to support the provision of work experience at the launch of Workfinder, including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Unruly co-founder Sarah Wood, and global education leader, Pearson LONDON, 16 January: Business leaders gathered this morning to discuss how business and education must work together to inspire the next generation, provide them with work experience opportunities and empower them to explore the world of work on their own terms.

12 Sep 2018: Founders4Schools announces Trustee appointment: Jonathan Pearl

[London, September 12, 2018] Leading GovTech charity Founders4Schools, has announced the appointment of Jonathan Pearl as a Trustee on 6 June 2018. Jonathan will help steer F4S to scale up positive career interactions for hundreds of thousands more young people, in collaboration with educators, partners, parents, business leaders, local authorities and the students themselves.

17 Jan 2019: Partnership Announcement between Founders4Schools and The Prince’s Trust Scotland

We are delighted to announce the partnership which has been set up between The Prince’s Trust Scotland and Founders4Schools.

12 Feb 2019: Skills 4.0 and Founders4Schools

Engaging your young people in career encounters opens up myriad possibilities for learning and development. One of the best contexts for this is in focussing on the development of skills. This article aims to look at one of the transferable skills for work showcased in Skills 4.0. This is the first in a series of articles where we will be reflecting on the educational experiences and careers of Founders4Schools volunteer leaders, and asking the how these skills come to life, and provide structure in their working lives. In this first article we have asked Perdita Stevens Professor of Mathematics of Software Engineering at University of Edinburgh to reflect on the communications skills she gained in her study of modern languages, and how this has helped her.

21 Jan 2015: Founders4Schools launches new product feature

Founders4Schools unveil their new search function that makes it even more compelling for teachers to connect what students learn in the classroom with success stories from ‘real life’ business leaders.

20 Nov 2014: Appathon results

From the classroom to Silicon Valley via the House of Commons. The best students’ app ideas and prototypes are announced in the national Appathon competition

21 Sep 2015: Partnership with Young Enterprise

Following a successful pilot, Young Enterprise will be joining forces with Founders4Schools to deliver enhanced programmes with speakers from the fast growing local businesses.

5 May 2015: Local Business Heroes bring subjects to life for Students

Founders4Schools release tool for LEPs and MPs to monitor the link between enterprise and education

5 Jun 2015: From the classroom to Silicon Valley

The Founders4Schools and SVC2UK Appathon competition winners visit the world's tech leaders

16 Sep 2015: We are delighted to be a key partner with the Careers & Enterprise Company

The Careers & Enterprise Company rolls out key intiative

7 Dec 2015: Founders4Schools signals next stage of growth with appointment of its first Chief Executive

The leading education charity Founder4Schools is delighted to announce the appointment of Miles Quitmann who will join to serve as its chief executive with immediate effect.

28 Nov 2017: Sixteen-year-old girl who inspired Workfinder app opens doors for thousands of young women in Newcastle

- New ‘Trip Advisor’ style App connects students to work experience in less than 5 minutes; - Newcastle to benefit from up to 5,000 work experience scholarships for 16-18 year-old women to work in digital companies and charities;   - Funded by £200k investment from social tech investor, - Nominet Trust;  Preparing girls for jobs of the future the ‘challenge of a generation’.

1 Dec 2017: Scotland’s Most Inspiring Business Person of the Year is Announced encouraging Entrepreneurs Across the Country to Volunteer to Speak in Schools

- Vicky Brock, Founder and CEO of Get Market Fit and Clear Returns wins prestigious award for speaking in a number of primary and secondary schools - Stirling Council becomes the UK’s number 1 local authority in student-employer encounters to boost youth employability - Prolific angel investor Sherry Coutu CBE describes equipping young people for the future of work as the ‘challenge of our generation’

7 Mar 2016: Women-led businesses are 'driving force' of UK economy

In a global first, new research shows UK companies led by women grow, perform and rank

14 Mar 2016: FOUNDERS4SCHOOLS TOP FEMALE LEADERS OPEN LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE

Top female leaders from the Founders4schools today opened the market at the London Stock Exchange to celebrate International Women’s Day.

22 Mar 2016: Founders4Schools partners with the Careers and Enterprise company to help young people achieve their potential

Closer relationship with The Careers & Enterprise Company, will see the F4S platform available to an additional 1.5 million youngsters in England within 18 months

28 Nov 2017: F4S Response to the Industrial Strategy White Paper

Earlier this year, with your help, Founders4Schools submitted a detailed response to the Government Green Paper Building our Industrial Strategy. Yesterday (27 November 2017) the Industrial Strategy White Paper was published, and I am delighted that many of the areas we highlighted as key components of a purposeful growth plan have been picked up and investment promised. Download the PDF Press Release

11 Apr 2016: Boost for D2N2 area students’ employability and career prospects

Young people will receive a boost to their employability skills and be helped onto a fulfilling career path through new funding across the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) area.

28 Sep 2016: Business Weekly: Cambridge tops uk student-entrepreneur engagement

Greater Cambridge & Peterborough was revealed as the top district in the UK for engagement between schools and business entrepreneurs at a high profile ceremony at the House of Lords. Cambridge entrepreneur Sherry Coutu has trumpeted the triumph for Cambridge as part of her Founders4Schools (F4S) initiative.

15 Dec 2016: Founders4Schools launch Group Mentoring and Speed Mentoring

Founders4Schools launch Group Mentoring and Speed Mentoring, offering students personal career encounters with top local business leaders.

20 Nov 2017: Sixteen-year-old girl who inspired Workfinder app opens doors for thousands of young women in Manchester

● New ‘Trip Advisor’ style App connects students to work experience in less than 5 minutes; ● Manchester the first city to benefit from up to 5,000 work experience scholarships for 16- 18 year-old women to work in digital companies and charities; ● Funded by £200k investment from social tech investor, Nominet Trust; ● Preparing girls for jobs of the future the ‘challenge of a generation’.

3 Oct 2016: Barclays & Founders4Schools partner to build skills for young people

Founders4Schools and Barclays have teamed up to provide young people with the inspiration, resources and knowledge to support their future careers, with Founders4Schools being selected as one of Barclays global partners.

5 Oct 2016: Now you can book 30 students for workplace visits

Special thanks to two primary school teachers Harriet at Rhyl Primary School and Rosemary O’Brien at Torriano Primary School in Camden who got in touch to see if they could book workplace visits for groups of 30 students, rather than just 10.

29 Aug 2018: Collaboration between educators and employers brings a wealth of opportunity for 6-to-18 year olds in Scotland

Glasgow, 29th August, 2018: Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, marked the start of the new academic year in Glasgow today, by celebrating the successful roll out of career support services to schools across Scotland using the Founders4Schools (F4S) platform.

15 Jun 2016: Workplace Visits: A backstage pass to the country’s leading businesses

Founders4Schools has enlisted the support of its 10,000-strong network of business leaders to offer teenagers unprecedented access during June and July to the world of work at some of the country’s most innovative and fast-growing companies.

14 Dec 2017: Sixteen-year-old girl who inspired Workfinder app opens doors for thousands of young women in Birmingham

● New ‘Trip Advisor’ style App connects students to work experience in less than 5 minutes; ● Birmingham to benefit from up to 5,000 work experience scholarships for 16-18 year-old women to work in digital companies and charities; ● Funded by £200k investment from social tech investor, Nominet Trust; ● Preparing girls for jobs of the future the ‘challenge of a generation’

19 Dec 2016: Founders4Schools meet Teesside University and local business leaders

Tech entrepreneur Sherry Coutu CBE meets business leaders and academics at Teesside University to discuss accelerating business growth and job creation in the region

19 Dec 2016: Founders4Schools meets the Scottish government

Tech entrepreneur Sherry Coutu CBE meets with the Scottish government and business leaders to address youth employability

17 Apr 2018: Schools in Manchester redefine the future of work experience

Schools in Manchester drive the latest innovation allowing students to book work experience during term-time to improve student outcomes & resolve the “summer placement” bottleneck. For the full press release download pdf from this page

12 Sep 2018: Founders4Schools announces Trustee appointment: Mary Curnock Cook

[London, September 12, 2018] Leading GovTech charity Founders4Schools, has announced the appointment of Mary Curnock Cook as a Trustee on 1 September 2018. Mary will help steer F4S to scale up positive career interactions for hundreds of thousands more young people, in collaboration with educators, partners, parents, business leaders, local authorities and the students themselves.

12 Sep 2018: Founders4Schools announces Trustee appointment: Stephen Bolton

[London, September 12, 2018] Leading GovTech charity Founders4Schools, has announced the appointment of Stephen Bolton as a Trustee on 6 June 2018. Stephen will help steer F4S to scale up positive career interactions for hundreds of thousands more young people, in collaboration with educators, partners, parents, business leaders, local authorities and the students themselves.

19 Dec 2016: Founders4Schools meet the North East Local Enterprise Partnership

Tech entrepreneur Sherry Coutu CBE meets with the North East Local Enterprise Partnership and business influencers to discuss scaling companies in the region

17 Apr 2017: Founders4Schools response to the Industrial Strategy

Founders4Schools is delighted to respond to Building our Industrial Strategy, and supports the Government’s commitment to a modern industrial strategy with its focus on productivity, business growth and a fairer society. To remain competitive, we must extend our technological lead but grow relevant skills in local labour markets; we must, as the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy observes, ‘create the right conditions for new and growing enterprise to thrive’ and allow for the disruption that is to come in the worlds of scienti c and technological discovery. We believe that to contribute to economic prosperity and enable us to stand apart from other nations the industrial strategy must empower people, wherever they nd themselves, and work for all. WE believe we must urgently address the skills gaps in STEM subjects before us, prepare our school-age children with the skills required for the jobs of the future, and invest in training our teachers so they can use digital tools to help them cope with the rapidly changing digital environment.

25 Jan 2017: Announcing the launch of Workfinder, the work experience app

Sherry Coutu CBE brings together a collaboration of 15,000 growing businesses to launch Workfinder to tackle social mobility head on by connecting students with local high growth companies.

26 May 2017: Barack Obama’s speech to Scottish students kicks off Founders4Schools’ drive for 1,000 business leader volunteers in Scotland to boost youth employability

Former US President Barack Obama will address philanthropic and business leaders along with 9 Scottish students and a teacher at a dinner at Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 26 May.

5 Mar 2017: Women-led businesses are driving force of the UK economy

Founders4Schools reveals research to mark International Women’s Day and calls upon female leaders to inspire the next generation in the classroom.

10 Oct 2018: Founders4Schools awards ceremony celebrates champions of youth employability on Ada Lovelace day

10 October 2018, London: Last night, Founders4Schools celebrated and awarded the role models in its community who are doing the most to connect students of all backgrounds to the vast opportunities within the world of work....

18 Apr 2017: Founders4Schools goes live in Scotland

[Edinburgh, Glasgow, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen & Inverness] Founders4Schools is delighted to have successfully rolled out their ground-breaking digital match-making service for schools, colleges and employers with having linked up with The Hunter Foundation.

7 Jun 2018: CEC invests in local projects to help bring the world of work to life for young people in Ipswich and Fenland & East Cambridgeshire.

The Careers & Enterprise Company invests in local projects to help bring the world of work to life for young people in Ipswich and Fenland & East Cambridgeshire. The Careers & Enterprise Company today (7 June) announced the successful recipients of its £1.5 million Opportunity Area Fund which is invested in programmes across the second wave of Opportunity Areas including Ipswich and Fenland & East Cambridgeshire and surrounding areas to help thousands of young people in the region prepare for the fast-changing world of work.

9 Oct 2018: Founders4Schools appoints new Finance Director to leadership team

[London, Tuesday 9 October, 2018]. Founders4Schools today announces the appointment of Teck Sun Kua as Finance Director. Teck joined the GovTech charity’s senior leadership team this week.

17 Apr 2018: A lesson in leadership

Founders4Schools introduces new service to empower students to directly access business leaders into their schools to learn about the world of work. For the full press release download from this page

17 Apr 2018: Work Experience is easy as A B CV

Workfinder adds new CV upload feature to allow young people to stand out from the crowd! Download the PDF from this page for the full press release

16 Nov 2018: Founders4Schools supports the Power of Positive Role Models theme for International Men’s Day 2018

[London, 19 November 2018] Founders4Schools, a leading GovTech charity on a mission to connect today’s young people to business leaders in the community, supports International Men’s Day this year with its theme of Positive Role Models. Founders4Schools has made a difference to over 225,000 young lives by putting role models in classrooms, helping young people make more informed decisions about their future.

6 Mar 2018: Women-led businesses are 'driving force' of UK economy

Sherry Coutu, Nicola Mendelsohn, Jacqueline de Rojas, Martha Lane Fox, Anya Hindmarch, Liz Earle, Jessica Butcher, Melissa De Donato, and Margot James MP, Minister of State for the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport are amongst the UK’s leaders welcoming ground-breaking new service to celebrate International Women’s Day.

15 Jun 2018: F4S says a resounding THANK YOU to Business Leaders who Make A Difference to their Communities every day

LONDON, UK – 15th June, 2018: Leading Gov-tech education charity Founders4Schools (F4S), whose mission is to connect inspiring business leaders with educators, has called out on their website those business leaders who are making the most difference in their local community by connecting with and speaking in schools.

4 Jul 2018: The Careers & Enterprise Company and Founders4Schools join forces to simplify careers provision for schools

(London, Wednesday 4 July 2018): The Careers & Enterprise Company, established to provide high impact careers support to young people, and award-winning GovTech charity Founders4Schools (F4S) have joined forces in a pilot project to help schools using both services benefit from employer engagement more easily.

14 May 2015: Founders4Schools teams up with the BBC to inspire a new techno savvy generation

Founders4Schools are proud to be partnering with the BBC this year on ‘Make it Digital’, the BBC’s major UK-wide initiative to inspire a new generation to get creative with coding, programming and digital technology.

12 Sep 2018: Founders4Schools announces Trustee appointment: Peter Gotham

[London, September 12, 2018] Leading GovTech charity Founders4Schools, has announced the appointment of Peter Gotham as a Trustee on 1 May 2018. Peter will help steer F4S to scale up positive career interactions for hundreds of thousands more young people, in collaboration with educators, partners, parents, business leaders, local authorities and the students themselves.

17 Apr 2018: Pioneering “AI” Teacher’s Dashboard unlocks work experience opportunities for all UK students

Workfinder launches a new classroom service embedded with AI recommendations to help teachers guide meaningful work experience opportunities for their students. For the full press release download from this page

2 May 2019: Work in Progress: Is work experience really fit for purpose?

New research published today finds that:

Work experience programmes should take place post-16 rather than from age 14.
Work experience opportunities should be spread throughout the year.
Students should participate in a variety of work placements in groups as well as individually.

8 Mar 2019: Women-led businesses are driving force of the UK economy

Founders4Schools reveals research to mark International Women’s Day and calls upon female leaders to inspire the next generation in the classroom and through work placements

5 Mar 2019: Founders4Schools announces the appointment of Stewart Carruth as Chief Executive to drive the growth of the charity

Founders4Schools, a GovTech charity operating in the education space, today announces the appointment of Stewart Carruth to the position of Chief Executive Officer. The new CEO will be responsible for delivering on the charity’s ambitious 2022 UN Sustainability Impact Goals, to narrow skills gaps in primary and secondary education and prepare young people for the world of work by connecting them with inspirational business leaders.