Celebrating 10 years of Access Aspiration

 The pandemic has severely affected young people’s journey into work, and the cost of living crisis is now deepening inequalities. 

Access Aspiration addresses this imbalance by creating more visibility of career pathways for 16-18 year olds from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds who are making key decisions about their future but struggling to link with employers. 

The programme targets schools in boroughs where a high proportion of students are eligible for free school meals and connects them with businesses across London to deliver a range of impactful employer experiences such as work experience, mock interviews, and CV workshops. 

We work with various organisations across London, like yours, to make these opportunities a reality for young Londoners. 

To date, the programme has delivered over 22,000 employer encounters and supported over 15,000 students from across London. 

Ten years of impact

Access Aspiration was founded by Mayor’s Fund for London trustee, Jenny Halpern Prince. In 2022, the programme marks its 10th anniversary of providing high-quality and aspirational employer encounters and experiences. 

Through the ten years of Access Aspiration, participating young people have reported increased knowledge, understanding, and motivation:

• 95% of young people report an increased knowledge of the range of careers available
• 92% of young people report an increased understanding of their chosen industry
• 88% of young people say they are motivated to get into work

If you’d like to get involved with Access Aspiration, you can visit the ‘For Business’ page in the Access Aspiration area of our website.