The West of England has been awarded £229,000 funding through the £2.3 million Future Ready Fund, a three-year national programme designed to close the career readiness gap through high-quality, modern work experience.
The region is one of just 10 areas across England selected to take part, supporting young people facing socio-economic disadvantage and other barriers. Over 200 schools and 500 employers will take part nationally, with delivery running from January 2026 tosummer 2028, and participants will access progressive, high-quality work experiences with a range of employers over three years.
The Future Ready Fund is delivered by The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC), the national body for careers education in England, and supported by JPMorganChase.
Across the 10 regions, 3,750 young people will benefit from tailored work experience, targeted outreach and employer engagement. The programme comes at a critical time, with nearly one million young people out of work nationally and employers reporting wideningskills gaps.
In the West of England, the fund will be delivered through the Careers Hub. The Hub works with schools, colleges and employers to expand access to meaningful work experience and employer encounters, helping young people build skills, confidence and clearercareer pathways. Support will focus on young people on free school meals and with low levels of attendance (pupils who are currently missing one or more day of school per week), ensuring opportunities reach those who need them most. Evidence shows that whilehigh‑quality work experience significantly improves employability and workplace skills, access remains unequal. More than 375 young people will be supported from 15 schools across the West Country.
The West of England Careers Hub will partner with Bristol WORKS to deliver a programme of tailored activities that build in depth and intensity as young people grow in confidence, skills and career readiness. Bristol WORKS will arrange and support high-qualitywork experience placements with local employers, working closely with schools and businesses to co-design opportunities that reflect young people’s needs, interests and ambitions.
The Mayor of the West of England, Helen Godwin, said:
“Where you grow up should never limit where you can go. Too many young people miss out on high-quality work experience simply because of their background.
“This investment will help level the playing field, connecting young people with real employers, real workplaces and real opportunities over several years – part of our drive through the West of England Growth Strategy to create thousands of new jobs andclear routes into work and skills for local people.
“By working with schools and businesses across our region, we can give more young people the confidence, skills and networks they need to succeed, while helping employers build the workforce of the future and support growth right across our economy.”
Now moving into full delivery, the fund will support the same cohorts of young people over three years, tracking their progress through to 2030. CEC will evaluate the programme’s impact and publish findings to share best practice in modern work experience nationwide.
The Future Ready Fund aims to improve career readiness, employability and foundational workplace skills for socio-economically disadvantaged young people, increase the capability and capacity of employers to deliver high-quality work experience, and build theevidence base for what works while sharing best practice across the careers sector.
The schools involved in the project are:
- Ashton Park
- Bedminster Down School
- Bridge Learning Campus
- Broadoak Academy
- E-Act Merchants’ Academy
- Fairfield High School
- Hans Price Academy
- King’s Oak Academy
- Mangotsfield School
- Norton Hill Academy
- Oasis Academy Brightstowe
- Oasis Academy Brislington
- Orchard School Bristol
- Patchway Community School
- Writhlington School.
The regions awarded funding are Cheshire & Warrington, East Sussex, Greater Essex, Greater London, Hertfordshire, Lancashire, Leicester & Leicestershire, Somerset, Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire, and the West of England.
Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, said:
“We are seeing too many young people leaving school without securing education, employment, or training. This is why early and sustained engagement is essential to raise aspirations and broaden career awareness for those historically left behind.
“It’s such great news for our city and the wider region that this partnership between the council’s Bristol WORKS team and the West of England Combined Authority’s Careers Hub will be one of ten regions piloting the new Equalex model, offering meaningfulexperiences of work from Year 8 to Year 10.
“By working with the same 375 students over three years from schools across the West of England, the pilot will allow us to understand the impact of consistent, high quality experiences and track students’ progression beyond the three year period, contributingvaluable insights to wider national strategy.”
Anna Dunn, CEO of JPMorganChase U.K., said:
“We are investing in skills and training to help U.K. residents access greater career opportunities because we think engaged labour force participation is a critical element of the strong economy that benefits U.K. business. Our continued investments willsupport the U.K.’s increased focus on boosting skills and pathways to quality careers.”
John Yarham, Chief Executive of The Careers & Enterprise Company, said:
“Too many young people face barriers to becoming career ready. Not because of a lack of potential, but because of unequal access to support, including high-quality work experience.
The Future Ready Fund is about changing that. By working with Careers Hubs, schools and employers to design bespoke, modern work experiences, we can help young people build confidence, skills and a clearer sense of their future. This partnership with JPMorganChaseshows what is possible when the public and private sectors work together to tackle inequality at scale.”
CEC will publish impact reports in the coming years, with a final report in 2030 bringing together participant destination data, best practice and insights into delivering high-quality modern work experience for disadvantaged young people.
