Building a Future Workforce

Benefits of School Engagement for Employers

Engaging with schools offers numerous benefits for employers. It’s a brilliant way to raise awareness of your industry and the roles within it, build future talent pipelines, and address critical skills gap, especially in hard-to-fill areas and priority sectors. You can also help prepare young people for the workplace, helping them understand the expectations and behaviours of a professional environment.

Planning your School Engagement

When connecting with schools it is useful to understand what format your activity will take, the logistics of the day and the year group you will be delivering to. Also consider how you will tailor your activity to ensure it’s age-appropriate and engaging. For more support, we have compiled a number of useful resources to help you connect with schools:

Starting Early: Primary School Engagement

Traditionally, employer engagement has focused on secondary-aged pupils. However, the Start Small: Dream Big pilot by the CEC introduced employer encounters to primary school children nationwide. The results of the pilot were incredibly positive, with the majority of teachers reporting that fewer pupils limited their careers aspirations due to gender stereotypes as a consequence of the pilot. Furthermore, there was a notable increase in girls’ interest in careers across sectors such as business and finance, law, digital and construction.
Source: The Careers & Enterprise Company: Insight Briefing 2: The Promise of Primary

For more details about the primary pilot, click here >

Unlocking the Hidden Workforce: Young People with SEND

There is a growing recognition that young people with Special Educational Needs (SEND) are part of an often untapped “hidden workforce” in Somerset. Young people with SEND can bring unique perspectives, reliability and creativity to the workplace, and be a wonderful asset to your organisation.

Visit the Imagine the Possibilities pages on our website, to find out more about how you can offer Supported Employment opportunities.

Need More Support with your School Engagement?

We are here to help. No matter the size of your organisation or the sector, we can help you engage with schools, from supporting you to plan engagement activities to finding the best ways to connect with schools and beyond. For more tips and advice, visit the Employer pages here >

Moreover, the CEC have developed a nationally recognised framework called The Employer Standards, which are designed to help employers maximise their engagement with schools and ensure their outreach is aligned to both business and educational aims.

We strongly encourage all employers to explore and complete the Employer Standards to help plan and structure your school engagement, and we can help you to do this.

Released On 18th Aug 2025

Search