Empower your students to reach their potential
We are the UK’s leading social mobility charity who exist to level the playing field for 11-19-year-olds from state schools and colleges like yours by providing the kind of work experience placements and inspirational talks that are usually only available for top independent schools.
All our programmes are fully funded and free for you and your students, with opportunities available across the country. You will be supported by our dedicated education team who will make the process easy and help you with safeguarding.
What programmes do we offer for your students?
From aged 11 onwards your students can start their journey with us:
Work
Experience
Your 14-19-year-old students can join high-quality and employer-led in-person work placements, virtual work experience, or hybrid placements from anywhere in the UK.
Inspirational
Talks
Your 11-19-year-old students can get career inspiration from high-profile speakers, with options to host in-person talks at your school or college, join live online upcoming broadcasts or view our talks library to watch recorded sessions.
National Teen
Book Club
You can register your 11-19-year-olds for our in-school online book clubs – which provide inspiration from authors and related speakers – and signpost for 14-19-year-old independent learners to join after-school too.
Why partner with Speakers for Schools?
Here to help your students: Expand their career knowledge and build their confidence via exclusive work experience opportunities with world-class employers and talks from inspirational people
Fully funded: Our programmes are free to access for young people and your school or college
Designed with educators in mind: Our opportunities align to your CEIAG objectives with placements that meet Gatsby Benchmarks 5 and 6, and use the Skills Builder Universal Framework
Dedicated account managers: To help you make the most of our services, saving you time and making the process simple and straightforward.
How does it work?
1
Learn more
Fill out this short form to
get in touch with us, or register
directly for an account here
2
We’ll get you started
Our team will invite you to an introductory call and demo of our online portal, which matches your students to the most relevant geographic opportunities and top nation-wide virtual work experience placements
3
Get exploring
You’re good to go! Apply to host an inspirational talk, find work experience
opportunities, and take part in book club
What resources are available to support you?
As well as the support of our dedicated education team, we also have lots of useful resources – which can be accessed in our digital guide. There are how-to-videos, a student assembly presentation, a consent form template and so much more.
Who benefits?
Boost confidence: In our survey, 80% of young people felt confident about their future post work experience, rising from 45% pre-placement.
Raise awareness: In our survey, 70% of young people said their work placement was particularly helpful in raising their awareness of the different routes into the industry.
Remove barriers: In our survey, students who did work experience increased their belief in their ability to thrive in the workplace, from 45% to 73%.
Why do 2,073 schools and colleges trust Speakers for Schools?
We’ve partnered with Speakers for Schools to access inspiring talks and insightful work experience, a vital part of lifelong learning. By offering opportunities for in-person, hybrid, and virtual experiences we’ve removed the barriers that exist for many!
Alexander McCafferty
Careers Leader, Djanogly City Academy
Speakers for Schools provide us with a ready-made extension to our careers offer, with the funded opportunities being particularly welcome in giving learners opportunities that they may otherwise not have. This effectively means that the only limitation our learners have, are those that they impose on themselves!
Mr Gordon Neighbour FGS
Careers Leader, Torquay Girls Grammar School
We have had many students participating in work experience programmes. They have been varied and well thought out, student feedback has been positive, and we have been supported in terms of promoting the placements and ensuring students are logged on. Virtual placements have enabled our students to access experiences that they would not otherwise have been able to.
Ceri Donovan
Careers Lead, Montpelier High School