Annual Review 2019-2020

In this, our fifth year of operations since the charity was spun-out from SVC2UK, we were excited to bear witness to the awesome impact of facilitating just under 1.3 million encounters between employers and students and it was also pleasing to see a significant diversification of our income streams as we continued to mature as an organisation.  

In addition to these milestones, we adjusted to a smaller head-count as we waved good-bye to colleagues from the work-experience service we had nurtured for three years and spun-out to private investors.  Adding to these not inconsiderable adjustments, covid provided us with more challenges and opportunities. Challenges to work differently and opportunities to adapt our services to help other learners. 

We adapted our delivery model to provide continued support and guidance during Covid-19. We introduced webinars to facilitate Encounters at home and in remote areas and continued to improve our user journey and recommendation engine to ensure educators book appropriate and meaningful Encounters for their students. We partnered with BCG Digital Ventures and DCMS to create Digital Boost, a service helping those who work for SMEs and Charities to acquire the digital skills necessary to reach their customers online. This will help businesses continue to grow and employ students in future.

Our mission to prepare learners for the future world of work relies on the support, dedication and enthusiasm of many people. I would like to extend my wholehearted appreciation to the many individuals and organisations who work with us to fund our services; to the educators who use our services to ensure young people are receiving inspiring education about the world of work; to the business leaders who generously provide their hard work and time to be available to students; to the wonderful team at F4S and to our Trustees and Advisors, whose guidance and advice has supported us through this year.