Careers Clusters

This cluster is led by Reed in Partnership and works with six schools in Barnet and Enfield.

It aims to provide pupils with innovative careers interventions, supported by employers such as: Virgin Active, St John Ambulance, Santander, BNP Paribas, Baker McKenzie and EY. Pupils have benefited from talks, events, site visits and work experience opportunities with the employers involved.

For more information and resources, visit www.youngcareers.org.uk or contact Danielle Aliberti.

This cluster is led by Prospects and works within the London boroughs of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.



Its membership includes 16 secondary schools and one cross-regional college. It is working with employers and higher education institutions such as:Thames Water, TfL, Corey Environmental, Western Homes, Marriott Hotels, Rose Bruford and Canterbury Christchurch.

The cluster has piloted 18 employer-based activities with schools, with a further eight under way. This has helped schools to enhance their CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance), with a particular focus on white pupils eligible for free schools meals. The cluster also offers professional development for school staff and secures work placements for pupils. The majority of schools involved are working towards the Quality in Careers Standards award.

For more information and resources, please contact Robert Neame or Andrew Cox.

This cluster is led by Prospects and works within the London boroughs of Brent and Barnet

It's made up of one college and 11 secondary schools, as well as employers such as IBM, EY, City of London and Barnet Homes. Collectively, they have piloted 18 employer-based activities with schools and there are a further eight under way. These activities help schools to enhance their CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance), with a focus on key groups of pupils, including those with Special Education Needs (SEN). The cluster also offers professional development for school staff and secures work placements for pupils.

For more information and resources, contact Melanie Clarke.

Creative Digital Careers is led by New City College and focused on creative and digital industries within the East London Growth Boroughs (Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Greenwich, Waltham Forest and Barking & Dagenham).

More than 70 employers have engaged with schools through the cluster, including the BBC, ITN, Photobox and the Barbican. Initiatives with schools have varied - from creative networking events and music therapy, to ethical hacking and emerging technologies. Training sessions have up-skilled tutors, as well as pupils, giving them a greater understanding of labour market information. The cluster has supported schools and employers to work closer together to establish long-term networks.

For more information and resources, visit www.creativedigitalcareers.co.uk or contact Samantha Turner.

The Ealing Specialist Careers Cluster is led by Dynamic Training and focused on supporting pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) within the borough.

The cluster was designed to complement existing borough initiatives around careers and SEND. It is working with six schools, which have all developed employer-led activities to engage SEND learners. These activities directly link to potential employment opportunities, as well as developing independent living skills essential to enabling progression into work. The cluster’s employer partners include Morrisons, Sky, Double Tree Hilton and McDonalds.

For more information and resources, contact Angela George.

This cluster is led by Prospects and works in the London borough of Havering.

It's made up of two colleges and ten secondary schools, who are supported by employers such as TfL, CITB, BT, Tesco and Middleton Murray. They have piloted 18 employer-based activities with schools, with a further eight underway. These activities help schools to enhance their CEIAG (Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance), with a focus on white pupils eligible for free schools meals. The cluster also offers professional development for school staff and secures work placements for pupils.

For more information and resources, contact Malcolm Staunton.

This cluster is led by City and Islington College and works with local schools in the borough.

By helping schools and colleges to improve their relationships with local employers, the cluster aims to bring about long term improvement to careers education in the borough. It offers:

• innovative ways for schools to engage with employers
• ongoing training for teachers to help them understand the types of opportunities available for young people locally and empower them to give high quality careers advice
• termly training events and workshops for pupils, delivered in collaboration with employers

The cluster hopes to increase the use of labour market information by schools, help them to develop sustained links with local employers and ultimately to reduce the number of young people in Islington who are not in education, employment or training (NEET).

For more information and resources, contact Kizito Anyanwu.

The IT Excellence cluster is run by Reed in Partnership and focused on the Information Technology (IT) sector.

It works with six schools within the boroughs of Barnet, Ealing and Waltham Forest and aims to provide their pupils with access to innovative IT careers support. Employers such as Instagram, Uber, Hotcourses and Addison Lee have provided time and resources to develop pilot activities with schools. Pupils have benefited from talks, events, site visits and work experience opportunities with the employers involved.

For more information and resources, visit www.youngcareers.org.uk or contact Danielle Aliberti.

The Lambeth Careers Cluster is led by the local authority in partnership with London Southbank University and Lambeth College.

Membership consists of 17 secondary schools within the borough, including 3 Special Educational Needs schools and 1 Pupil Referral Unit. The Cluster has secured work placements for students and piloted 24 employer-based projects with schools, partnering with organisations such as: Sainsbury’s, ACCA, Railway Delivery Group, Kings College and Skanska.

The Cluster has delivered a range of initiatives, including staff professional development, which help schools and colleges utilise LMI to inform curriculum planning and careers guidance. Schools and college leaders are supported to implement whole-school approaches to delivering high quality careers guidance. All 17 schools have successfully completed Stages 1 and 2 of The Quality in Careers award, and progressed onto Stage 3.

For more information and resources visit contact Juliet Williams.

The Newham Careers Cluster is led by 15billionebp and works with schools and colleges in the borough.

It supports nine secondary schools and colleges in the borough, aiming to improve their careers provision and business links. A range of employers and universities (including the RAF, London City Airport, T.Rowe Price and Macfarlanes) have worked with the cluster, helping to design pilot activities to match school needs.

Key areas of focus include:

• apprenticeships
• careers in the curriculum
• local labour market information

For more information and resources, visit www.15billionebp.org, www.15billionebp.wordpress.com or contact Rezaul Hussain or Anne-Marie Greenland.

The Pan Out cluster is led by Rinova Ltd and focused on the food and accommodation services in the London borough of Wandsworth.

The project is a partnership between Rinova Ltd, Wandsworth Life Long Learning and Learn, Train, Recruit. They have chosen to work with seven schools in Wandsworth and are actively engaging with employers from a diverse range of companies in order to breakdown perceived stereotypes about jobs and careers in the hospitality sector. These employers include China Tang at The Dorchester, the Kennel Club and London Cocktail club.

For more information and resources, visit panout.london or contact Alexandra Walker.

Wandsworth Ambitions Careers Cluster is led by South Thames College, in partnership with the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is currently working with seven schools and colleges within the local authority.

From the outset, the cluster aimed to improve the labour market relevance of education in Wandsworth and increase successful transition from education to employment and training. Employers have been keen to engage, including:

• Wandsworth Chamber of Commerce and its members
• Construction companies such as Tideway, Multiplex
• Women in Games
• St George’s Hospital
• Enable Leisure and Culture, along with its partners such as Chocolate Films and Battersea Arts Centre

For more information and resources contact Angela Browne.