The rapid take up of the scheme by schools across every English county is testament both to how much schools value keeping in touch with their former students and to the support we’ve received from a whole range of organisations. We’d like to thank everybody who supported us in reaching such an ambitious target so quickly.

Over the course of the next few weeks, before Year 11s, 12s and 13s begin their GCSE and A level exams, students in state schools across the country will be signing up to their school’s Future First Network. By doing so, they’ll stay updated on what’s happening at school after they leave, keep the school up-to-date on their future achievements and potentially come back to school in the coming years as role models for the next cohort of students.

In a context of increasingly difficult transitions to work for young people in theUK, we know how important it is for them to be informed about all of their options. Furthermore, we’ve seen from our work with alumni in London schools how powerful information and informal advice about higher education and jobs is to students when it comes from people like them; people from their area who had some of the same teachers and walked the same corridors.

At events in our London schools so far this year, over three quarters of students (76%) have said that hearing from former students about jobs and university makes them want to work harder now. By increasing the aspirations and the attainment of students in state schools across the country, we aim to significantly level the playing field for students from state schools as they enter the workforce.

We aim to bring alumni networks to every state school in England within three years. “State schools have traditionally been far behind private schools in making use of alumni networks, this project will actually put them way out in front,” says Future First founder, Jake Hayman.

The Social Action Fund grant will fund piloting of the service in the first year of operation. The service will support schools in collecting data from young people before they leave, on an opt-in basis. Through regular text, Facebook and email communication, it will then keep former students updated on developments at the school, and the school updated on their progress.

By engaging alumni with their former schools, they will develop a network able to:

1. Provide relatable role models to inspire, inform and mentor current students;

2. Develop networks that can provide access to work shadowing and work experience opportunities during students’ time at school;

3. Open up fundraising opportunities for schools to engage their alumni as donors supporting extra-curricular activities and more.

Future First Managing Director, Alex Shapland-Howes, says that Future First alumni networks “will become a national asset, and something we can’t believe we ever lived without.”

The project will eventually be funded by school subscriptions, but as Hayman explains: “From day one, the entire project has been designed to be affordable for schools and will be run through our charity arm. The maximum annual cost to schools will be £500 a year and we expect to be able to keep it well below that cost. It’s less than £5 for each alumni entered into the scheme. This will provide great value for schools, and it’s all thanks to the Social Action Fund and the new foundation, ZING.”

Jonathan Jenkins, Chief Executive of The Social Investment Business said:

“We are delighted to support Future First’s ambitious and potentially life-changing effort to link students to their old boys and girls from over 500 state schools. We found their project very impressive and feel confident it will offer countless young people the big break they need to start their careers.”

Schools across England can sign up today at www.networks.futurefirst.org.uk

For further information or interviews, please contact Alex Shapland-Howes on info@futurefirst.org.uk or on 0207 239 8933.

The aim of the programme is to enable Citi to reach a wider and more diverse audience of young people from state schools across London and encourage them to consider a career in investment banking.

‘We want to meet students from the broadest possible pool’ explains Gemma Lines, Head of Graduate Marketing, Recruitment and Development (EMEA) at Citi, ‘…and this includes pupils from state schools and disadvantaged backgrounds who do not have the kind of access to financial services networks that their peers from fee-paying schools do. We are particularly interested in hearing from girls too – hiring more women is a key focus for our bank and it starts at the junior level.’’

Indeed, this opportunity is not just for any student. The bar is being set high and students will need to demonstrate exceptional academic performance with predominantly A grade predictions in their A levels. But even with such high entry criteria, the take up of places has been high and Future First has been absolutely delighted with the enthusiastic response from teachers and students alike, as this one example shows from a student at Kingsmead school, Enfield:

‘I cannot wait for the event to happen! This is undoubtedly a great opportunity for me to meet professionals in the sector and I hope to be able to ask them a lot of questions on how they, themselves, achieved the position they are at now. I’m also looking forward to the advice that will be given to me and that ‘extra mile’ that I can go to expand my knowledge and experience.’

To ensure only the most motivated students apply, Future First is providing a full screening service, which involves liaising with teachers to identify and shortlist talented students that meet Citi’s specific eligibility criteria, who each receive a phone call from Future First. Students are asked to express what they consider their strengths to be, and how they stand out from the crowd, as well as what attracts them to a career in banking and what they hope to learn.

Citi recognises the benefits of attracting students whilst they are still at school and maintaining a relationship with them during their University years. Students offered internships and work placements during holiday periods will be able to build their employability skills and competencies to feel confident, prepared and qualified to apply for vacancies at Citi when they graduate.

This approach is supported by research published in February 2012 by the Education and Employers Taskforce which shows a significant link between young people’s experience of the world of work whilst still at school and the chances of them becoming ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment or training) as young adults. It reveals that 26.1% of young people who had not had any contact with employers whilst at school went on to become ‘NEET’. This reduced significantly to 4.3% for those who had taken part in activities involving employers (eg. career insight events and work experience).

‘Future First provides a fantastic and worthwhile service to students and organisations like us,’ explains Gemma Lines when referring to why Citi decided to partner with Future First.

Future First applauds Citi’s commitment to diversity and its exemplary status as a signatory of the government’s Business Compact  which asks employers to be more inclusive to people from all walks of life, regardless of their background, where they were born, what school they go to or their parent’s wages.

There are still a few spaces left to attend the Citi Insight Days and students are invited to watch a short video which provides a snapshot of what to expect from working at Citi.

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Nynke Brett is Head of Corporate Partnerships at Future First.

Future First works with employers who recognise their role in supporting the Government’s social mobility strategy to make society fair and ensure everyone has equal opportunities.

Future First supports employers to attract exceptional young people for Apprenticeship and school leaver programmes, providing a full service of early identification, short listing and screening of a talent pipeline from its expansive network of state schools. Future First also designs and delivers employee engagement programmes for major firms, connecting staff with inspiring volunteering opportunities to support young people with their career development. Its partners include Google, PwC, Osborne Clarke, Taylor Wessing, and Rothschild.

In her article, Hilary Wilce highlights the importance of the relatability of the role models that Future First takes into state schools to talk to current students. Role models such as banker Deji Davies and the students have a shared background, therefore ‘the pupils listen closely, knowing that not so many years ago, this high-flyer was a boy from a local estate, sitting cross-legged, like them, in this same hall.’

She also brings to light the broader benefits of alumni programmes in state schools citing Oli Hamdi, Head of Year 11 at Acland Burghley School, who said that the input of Future First was a major factor in the school achieving its best GCSE results ever last year.

Visit The Independent here to read the full article.

Future First welcomes opportunities to talk to schools, businesses and politicians about how you can support our programmes to raise the aspirations of young people in UK state schools.

The primary aim of the initiative is to provide ‘real world’ careers education to a group of Year 9 students from George Green’s in the Isle of Dogs – a school where almost 60% of students receive free school meals and an equal percentage have English as a second language. The programme will engage volunteers from Osborne Clarke in supporting and encouraging students to make the right decisions about their GCSE options and future careers.

Over 20 volunteers representing a range of different roles in the firm – from solicitors to associates, sales managers to partners – came to the launch event to meet the students and listen to the presentations.

Ray Berg, a senior Corporate Partner at Osborne Clarke, explained: ‘We believe it is vitally important that young people from non-traditional backgrounds have the same career opportunities as their peers, and be well informed about their options whilst still at school.’

Having come from a state school background himself, Berg spoke of his passionate and personal commitment to enhancing social mobility and the important role that organisations like Future First play in raising the aspirations of young people.  ‘It’s not about encouraging students to pursue a career in law’, Berg went on to say, ‘it’s about making the City accessible and helping them navigate their way through the routes into different professions.’

Following the introductions, Future First, armed with whistle in hand, facilitated a speed networking exercise to break the ice and encourage all the Osborne Clarke volunteers to start talking to the students on a one-to-one level. ‘What famous person do you most admire and why?’ in particular triggered high decibels of chatter and laughter.

The students were asked to share their expectations of the programme and what they most wanted to learn. ‘How can I stand out from the crowd?‘ one student asked, and  ‘How can I make the most of all the opportunities out there?’ another remarked.

When asked why George Green’s finds it beneficial to work with firms like Osborne Clarke, Shirley Peterson, Economic Wellbeing Coordinator at the school made it crystal clear, ‘this is the first time a group of Year 9 students have been offered such focused support from a City law firm, which is incredibly valuable and we’re extremely grateful.’

Students were joined by their parents who got as much value from the event as their children. ‘I never had this opportunity when I was at school’ remarked one parent. ‘I would like my child to be prepared with the skills she needs for everyday life’ said another.

Over the coming weeks, volunteers from Osborne Clarke will meet with the students in small groups, supported by Future First, to provide guidance around issues of personal and professional development and what skills they will need to develop to become more employable and pursue the careers of their choice.

The programme marks the second year of Future First’s partnership with Osborne Clarke and George Green’s. The achievements from the first year have already been recognised and shortlisted for an award.

The firm has committed to work with Future First to develop the Year 9 programme over a three year period, supporting the students as they further progress towards their A level options.

Nynke Brett heads up Future First’s Corporate Partnerships arm which supports employers to design and deliver employee engagement programmes with young people. Its partners include Google, PwC, Taylor Wessing, and Rothschild. The programme also provides a school leaver resourcing service, and is currently supporting PwC and Citi to identify and attract exceptional entry level talent from non-traditional backgrounds.

In the careers sessions, current students got to interact with former Feltham students Attique Ul-Rehman, who works for ITV’s Online Media Department, Claire Benson, a Fire and Explosions Expert, Dr. Kalpa DaSilva, a cardiologist and Dene Robinson an Oil and Gas Engineer. During these events, students got to hear about the career paths of all four former students, what their jobs are like and how they got to where they are. This was followed by an in depth Q & A session to help students with their own choices about future courses, career paths and their next steps.

One student said of the sessions: “It was amazing to hear about their (former student’s) experiences, what type of qualities are needed for certain types of jobs, the different skills, what you can do with your A Levels and what you can do with your life!” Another student added: “It’s a good experience because it helps me realise there’s a lot I can do, I’m not narrowed down …there are wider opportunities; it widens my horizons”.

The former students enjoyed the sessions too, Kalpa said, “It was great! It bought back loads of good memories; it was fun to speak to kids who have gone through things that I’ve gone through in the past. The main thing is to give them the idea that working hard now can get them somewhere, and help them achieve something in the future”. Claire agreed, “It was really good fun today, they’re brilliant kids and they’re really enthusiastic, they asked lots of questions! I know that when I was at school I hadn’t heard of my job and because some of them have now, they may think about going into that field or something similar.”

Jay Lockwood, a teacher at Feltham Commuity College shared his thoughts about the sessions and why it’s so useful for the school: “I think it’s one of the most powerful things I’ve seen with careers because of the quality of the alumni. You just looked around the room and all the students were hanging on every word they heard. It helps them realise that there are things out there in the big wide world, which are very attainable, and makes them believe that they can do it. People from their area have done it and that should inspire them”.

We would like to thank Attique, Claire, Kalpa and Dene for giving up their time to support our work at Feltham Community College this school year. Our work is not possible without inspirational, informative and ambitious speakers, nor the incredible teachers who are so supportive of our work. Last but certainly not least we’d like to thanks the students at the school for making the most of the opportunity to talk to such a fantastic group of people. Looking forward to running more events next year!

To bring Future First to your school or volunteer at one of our existing schoosl get in touch.

Last Thursday, former Parliament Hill students Clare O’Driscoll and Lucy Irving spent the morning helping current students with their interview techniques. In the very rooms where they had their media studies lessons 15 years earlier, Clare and Lucy chatted to students about their jobs, career pathways and how to do well in an interview. After hearing about Lucy’s and Clare’s experiences, students identified their own skills, strengths and personal qualities and took part in an interview role play where they had to answer competency based interview questions. In this role play, students had to use examples of when they’ve used their skills and how they’ve applied themselves in various situations. This role play was to help prepare them for upcoming entry interviews to support their sixth form applications, as well future job interviews.

Parliament Hill student Tolu said she gained useful insights from the workshop. She said that she learnt “what to do in interviews”, and “how to think about my strengths and what I can take from the subjects I don’t like”. Tolu’s friend Amanda echoed these comments, and said the session helped her “speak more confidently”.

Former Parliament Hill student Clare, a Jewellery Designer with her own business said she thought the one of the most important things students came away with was “inspiration from ex Parliament Hill girls”. Lucy, a Psychology lecturer and PhD student, agreed. She commented that after the session the students “see they can achieve anything”. Lucy also enjoyed the session because she “got to do something that benefits other people”. Clare said that she found it really satisfying to see the girls gaining in confidence.

This Future First session was part of a ‘Deep Learning Day’, a termly initiative run across Parliament Hill and its partner schools in the La Swap consortium. These off-curriculum days focus on the personal development of the students, and give them an opportunity to develop skills outside of a classroom context. Sophie Noden, a teacher from Parliament Hill said the Future First workshop gave the students “confidence that there are many routes into careers” and “useful interview skills”.

With youth unemployment at its highest level for 17 years and with increasing education fees, these types of sessions are crucial for equipping young people to overcome the challenges they face as they progress through school and start to think about their next steps.

Interested in bringing Future First to your school? Get in touch

To learnt more about Parliament Hill and the La Swap consortium visit their websites.

To see Clare O Driscoll’s website click here

Between writing a sitcom and playing the violin for Mark Thomas, Amy took some time to write a blog for Future First about why she thinks it’s important to speak to students at her old comprehensive, Hampstead School, about jobs and careers….

As soon as my friend told me about Future First I was excited, and impatient, to get involved. They invited me to join them in helping educate kids at my old school about jobs and careers. I had been a hard worker at school, but despite achieving all the good grades I needed for university, I would still be returning to school as an example of someone who has made a career out of something which isn’t prescribed by the school curriculum.

It’s hugely inspiring for me to know that students at my old school can get access to the thousands of opportunities that are out there for them and learn from former students like me – I’m really happy to be part of that. Going into the comedy writing world for example, which felt like it was run by exclusive boys networks, I soon realised the power of networks and of learning confidence, independence, and complete and utter uniqueness: I’m thrilled that I can share this knowledge with young people at my old school.

When I was at school I had absolutely no idea what I wanted to ‘do’  because I was interested in lots of things. It’s taken me years to really try things out:  from studying drama at university, to running theatre companies, touring as a writer/performer in a comedy sketch group, playing in orchestras internationally, to playing the violin on the comedy circuit. Now I realise that I can incorporate all of my interests, just be me AND get paid for it. It takes a lot of hard work and marketing to convince people they really need a comedy violinist, so I create these job opportunities for myself. It’s all about carving out a niche for yourself – I think that’s really important advice for young people interested in being a performer or artist – it doesn’t have to be about choosing one skill or the other, it’s about using the contrasting skills to strengthen the others, and celebrating your uniqueness.

I remember Mark Thomas, one of my comedy heroes, coming into my school to do some campaigning about fair trade with us over ten years ago. Ten years later, I’m touring music festivals and regional theatres with him, warming up the crowd with live klezmer music and keeping them entertained in the interval. This was more of a fantasy gig I daren’t dream about, let alone a viable career option. It is, however, a great example of how, once you know what you and only you can contribute to the world, things fall into place. I remember kids at school taunting me for being a geek: leading the school orchestra did very little for my social status, and very few of the cool kids were impressed that I could do a mean Eddie Izzard impression, so they would try to make me feel embarrassed about it. But I stuck by those skills and aspects of my personality that make me a unique performer. I mean who can now say they have played Glastonbury’s first ever two-hour set to 2,000 people with one of their comedy heroes? I am now working with a lot of political UK hip hop and grime artists, as well as performing comedy storytelling about (and with) my violin. Now, after every job I’ve done, I make sure I look back and can say with confidence: ‘only I could have done that’.

If I was in school now and I went to a Future First event I’d think “FINALLY. Some people with sensible advice. Where the hell have you lot been hiding?” It’s a bewildering time being at school and if I’d have known that people like me not only got through it alive but also managed to make something of themselves that is completely unique, and not necessarily easy, it would have been really inspiring. I’m so glad I can be part of it now.

It’s also amazing to be part of a community of former Hampstead School students who are all doing amazing things: my friend Katy is a nurse and is combining her skills in medicine and passion for travelling by being a resident nurse in an arctic research station. Another Hampstead School friend, Isaac Warshal, has recently set up his own business called Focus Mobile, which helps automobile companies to develop strategies to use mobile technology – a very clever idea that is the result of his own talent for spotting the gap in the market and developing it into a business. I think it’s so inspiring to see others like me using what makes them unique to create their own jobs. And because we all do entrepreneurial and creative things we can spark off each other, even years after we left school.

So, if you’re reading this and thinking about going into your old school: do it. Think about that teenager you once were, and how much you would like to tell them: this is your chance.

Amy will be playing violin in Mark Thomas’ Extreme Rambling at the National Theatre and at the Tricycle Theatre (her old schools local theatre!) in January.

Discussing the employability skills deficit among many young people, Andy Burnham MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education, quoted figures from the Future First research report, Social Mobility, Careers Advice & Alumni networks, published earlier this year. http://www.futurefirst.org.uk/social-mobility-careers-report.pdf

He stated that “I genuinely find it appalling that… 39% of 16 to 19 year olds who went to a state school do not know anyone in a career in which they would like to work,” and called for recognition that role models could be key to young people’s fulfilment of their ambitions.

Watch Andy Burnham talk about the Future First report by clicking here, and scrolling to 26:20:

Future First are also delighted by the continuing support of Stephen Twigg MP, who joined Mr Burnham in citing our report, and who praised the effectiveness and value of Future First’s programmes.

Watch Stephen Twigg reiterate his desire to see the Future First programme extended to schools in Liverpool, by clicking here and scrolling to 1:50:40.

Future First are really looking forward to our upcoming meeting with education and business leaders in Liverpool, which we hope will bring us one step closer to making Mr Twigg’s hope a reality.

Future First always welcomes these debates, and conversations with members of all political parties to ensure that every young person in the UK has access to a model of careers advice that encompasses formal careers advice, role models and exposure to different work environments, so that every young person can fulfil their aspirations.

Future First sees formal, impartial careers provision as an essential service for all young people and advocates for investment into rather than the scrapping or downscaling of such services, whether that be provided through the Connexions service or through others.

Future First can not be seen as an alternative to such advice and we see ourselves as using relatable role models to inspire and educate young people so that they can make better use of such services.

As we expand our own work, hoping to work with 8,000 – 10,000 young people this year, we are deeply worried that these young people and others will not have access to the impartial, formal advice that we hope to leverage.

Future First is open to working with Connexions or other formal careers advisors or groups to deliver a rounded programme, and has, through the National Connexions Network / Careers England, sought to relay a proposal to all such groups on how a partnership might look.

We will continue to petition government, local authorities and schools to adapt our model but to do so in addition to and never at the expense of formal, impartial services.