Beyond Horizons: Rethinking Work Experience for Key Stage 3

What we’ve learned from Beyond Horizons: Why earlier workplace experience matters

Young people start forming ideas about their future careers long before they enter the workplace. But too often, opportunities to meet employers, explore different industries or understand the career pathways available come too late.

Over the past year, the EY Foundation has been testing a different approach through Beyond Horizons, a pilot programme delivered with over 100 Year 8 pupils eligible for Free School Meals across four secondary schools in Bradford. The programme brought together schools, employers and local partners to explore whether meaningful workplace experiences at ages 12 and 13 could help young people better understand their strengths, broaden their horizons and feel more optimistic about their futures.

The findings suggest that earlier engagement with the world of work can make a significant difference.

Following participation in the programme, positive or hopeful feelings about future careers increased from 48% to 85%, awareness of employers and opportunities in Bradford and West Yorkshire increased from 31% to 81%, and recognition of personal strengths and areas for development rose from 38% to 75%.

As schools begin to respond to new statutory guidance on work experience, there is also growing recognition from organisations such as the British Chambers of Commerce that young people need greater exposure to the workplace from school age onwards. The Beyond Horizons findings offer one example of how this can be achieved through partnership between schools, employers and partners.

There are three key lessons for employers:

1. Earlier engagement can have a meaningful impact

Many young people begin making decisions about subjects, aspirations and future pathways before they reach the age traditionally associated with work experience.

Insights from Beyond Horizons year one suggests that introducing workplace experiences earlier can help young people develop greater confidence, awareness and career optimism at a critical stage in their education. Positive responses relating to GCSE subject choices increased from 42% to 74%, suggesting that early exposure can help pupils connect learning with future opportunities.

2. Young people benefit from seeing local opportunities

One of the most encouraging findings was the increase in young people’s awareness of local employers and opportunities.

By engaging with organisations rooted in Bradford and West Yorkshire, participants were able to see careers and industries that exist within their own communities. This place-based approach helps make future opportunities feel more visible and achievable while strengthening connections between employers and the next generation of talent.

3. New partnership models can help work experience reach more young people

One of the key lessons emerging from Beyond Horizons is that high-quality workplace experiences do not always need to be delivered in a traditional ‘workplace setting’. The programme highlighted the value of working alongside local partners, including further education colleges, to help young people explore different pathways, develop their understanding of the labour market and gain exposure to a range of opportunities.

As schools respond to updated statutory guidance on work experience, collaborative models involving employers, schools and colleges may offer a practical way to expand opportunities while maintaining quality and relevance. This approach can help reduce pressure on individual employers, particularly small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), while ensuring young people continue to benefit from meaningful encounters with the world of work.

Find out more

Beyond Horizons will continue through 2026/27, working with schools, employers and local partners to build further evidence about how meaningful workplace experiences can be delivered earlier, more equitably and more sustainably for young people.

Organisations interested in supporting young people through workplace experiences, employer engagement or careers activities are encouraged to get in touch.

• Beyond Horizons evaluation findings: Early work experience boosts career optimism among Bradford pupils, EY Foundation pilot finds | EY – Global
• EY Foundation Impact Report: EY Foundation Impact Report 2025/2026 | EY – Global

For more information and to get involved, contact Dulcie Hayden, Bradford Programme Manager at the EY Foundation at dulcie.hayden@eyfoundation.ey.com