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Programme

F4S [2021]

Talent and Skills

Impact for scaleups

1,600

educators participating

31,000

volunteers on the platform to choose from

800

volunteers mentoring teachers and small businesses

395,107

young people engaged with employers

1,291,131

employer encounters to date

Key sectors

Impact ventures / Social Impact Life Sciences & Biotech Building & Construction Manufacturing / Advanced Manufacturing Creative, digital, film, games & media Professional services Defence & security Technology & Communications Engineering / Advanced Engineering Transport & Logistics Environmental Science & Technology Farming, fisheries & forestry Finance Food & drink Healthcare

F4S is an educational-tech charity giving children and young people the opportunity to meet the people who are creating the jobs of tomorrow in their classrooms today.

It works with volunteer business leaders drawn from startup and scaleup businesses and provides a simple free-to-use digital platform for educators to connect with local business leaders and professionals.

Alongside its core activities the webinar service that was introduced during the pandemic has been maintained, in order to break down barriers to engagement and help to connect students and business volunteers based in rural locations. This is supported by a series of webinars for educators to guide them through F4S’ online platform and provide advice on how to make the most out of the encounters for their students. 

Promoting equal opportunities continues to be a major focus and F4S has worked on a number of projects to achieve this, including with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham to provide careers education to Somali students in the borough; Maths4Girls using role models to encourage more girls to develop and maintain an interest in STEM subjects and the Villiers Park Project that tackles the challenges faced by high ability students from less advantaged backgrounds.

F4S is also offering a suite of support including:

  • Workfinder service to help young people search for work experience, including the Mapper Project to support teachers navigate digital career goals. 
  • The Digital Boost programme, delivered in partnership with BCG Digital Ventures, which provides online tutorials and resources to teach digital skills and provide knowledge to help companies cope with online demands and continue to engage with their customers and stakeholders online. 

F4S [2021] website