Explore our new partners for the 2024/25 academic year
Colas Rail
Colas Rail is a global leader in rail infrastructure services. They deliver a wide range of projects from straightforward to highly complex. Their mission is to enhance urban mobility and connect communities, while positively impacting the environment.
The organisation comprises a huge variety of roles working together to deliver a wide range of projects, specialising in the construction, renewal, and maintenance of railways. They prioritise flexibility, efficiency, and reliability, while still promoting social mobility and economic justice, community investment and engagement, local economy empowerment, and environmental protection.
Our partnership aims to inspire young people by raising awareness about careers across the rail sector. Through virtual and in-person events, the partnership will challenge gender and cultural stereotypes held by young people about the rail sector and highlight themes such as green and sustainable careers in the rail industry.
“We are thrilled to partner with Education and Employer to deliver impactful educational initiatives in the communities we serve. We look forward to engaging with local schools and colleges in Swindon, fostering connections that will benefit students and the community alike.”
Yamana Zedan, Social Value Manager at Colas Rail
Canal & River Trust
Canal & River Trust is the UK’s largest waterways charity and manages 2,000 miles of canals and rivers across England and Wales. As climate change and extreme weather increasingly threaten the canals, reservoirs, and ecosystems under their care, they work tirelessly to protect and revitalise these 250-year-old waterways.
Our partnership will bring to life the diverse range of STEM careers involved in managing the UK’s waterways. We’ll challenge stereotypes about careers in the waterways sector, particularly when it comes to STEM, through virtual and in-person events from a whole range of different Canal & River Trust employees.
“We’re very excited about this partnership with Education and Employers for the Inspiring the Future programme! It’s an incredible opportunity to ignite passion for STEM in young people by connecting them with inspiring professionals, and we can’t wait to see the amazing impact it will have on their futures!”
Barbera Cimadoro, STEM Development Coordinator at Canal & River Trust
With over 1,600 employees, their team includes experts across many fields. From a historic perspective, they’re the third largest owner of listed buildings and other structures in the UK, with 2,705 in their care. This encompasses seven historic parks and gardens, six battlefields, 46 scheduled ancient monuments and four World Heritage Sites.
Focusing on science and geography, they have 68 Sites of Special Scientific Interest and approximately 3,000 County Wildlife Sites, providing habitats for wildlife under threat. When it comes to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mechanics), the Canal &River Trust require a whole range of qualifications, knowledge and skill, crucial for conservation and innovation.
CIPD – the professional body for HR and people development
The CIPD is the professional body for human resources (HR), learning and development (L&D), organisation development (OD) and all people professionals. They help organisations thrive by focusing on their people, championing better work and working lives.
CIPD members range from human resources officers to learning managers to marketers. These job titles don’t often make it onto young people’s aspirational job lists because they don’t get the chance to learn about them. We’re working together to ensure that students find out about these types of roles early and know which could suit their personality and skillset, while offering rewarding careers.
“We are delighted to be working with Inspiring the Future to promote career options to students. As the professional body for HR and People Development we value the opportunity to engage directly with the next generation, who will be pivotal in shaping the future of work. It’s a wonderful change to help them understand the attractiveness and value of a career that is of ever-increasing interest and importance”
David D’Souza, Director of Profession at CIPD
