Impact Report 2024/25: Inspired by Industry

In previous impact reports, we’ve discussed why linking education to the world of work helps young people identify a pathway to a career which appeals to them, and how relatable role models can broaden their aspirations - critical to diversity and social mobility.

It’s hard to ignore the pace of change in the workplace and what that means for young people. Leading global employers struggle to predict what their workforce will look like in five years, let alone asking a 12 year old what they want to be when they grow up. There were almost one million young people in the UK not in employment, education, or training in May 2025. In a rapidly changing world, we must get young people to believe tech careers are within their reach, regardless of their background.

Education needs to keep pace. The global labour market is being reshaped due to technological development, the green transition, and economic and demographic shifts. About 170 million new jobs will be created this decade - equivalent to just 14% of today’s employment. Young people need access to industry to get a glance at what life beyond the classroom could be like - what it’s like to work in teams, solve problems, lead projects, receive feedback, come up with ideas, be creative, become a lifelong learner and even how it feels to fail!

It’s about new, creative ways of learning from people who are doing it for real, and that’s why industry engagement is integral to the Apps for Good approach.

We’re building a community that cares - opening the door between education and industry - for both employers, employees, teachers and learners. As a charity, Apps for Good partners with industry to enable us to deliver our courses to schools free of charge, but that’s not the sole reason. We also provide a bridge between education and industry, connecting schools to inspiring volunteers in organisations that their students can be part of in five or ten years time if they are given the right support and encouragement.

In the 2024/25 academic year, 296 volunteers from 47 companies provided feedback and support to Apps for Good students. Opportunities to engage with industry come via Industry Engagement sessions which are embedded in our course content, through pitching their app ideas to panels of industry judges in our annual Showcase or through bespoke events delivered in partnership with Multi Academy Trusts, like CCADIS. These opportunities align with Gatsby Benchmarks 4 & 5 by linking curriculum learning to careers and giving every pupil opportunities to learn from employers about work, employment and the skills they’ll need.

This year we also trialled Career Series, aiming to provide students with additional opportunities to learn from industry professionals who shared their career journeys, discussed essential skills, and demystified working in tech. By linking classroom learning to real-world careers, we want to help students see technology as an exciting and attainable path.

Across our various Industry Engagement activities in 2024/25, over 850 students have shared their app ideas and received feedback, along the way gaining an insight into a range of careers within digital technology. All teachers who completed our survey following an Industry Engagement or Careers Session rated it as ‘excellent’, and they all said that the session was “very useful” in addressing their students’ needs. Sophie Kirwan, a teacher at Shireland Collegiate Academy, commented, “[our volunteer’s] experience was impressive, her feedback was constructive and the students had some great questions for her that she answered wholly.”

Participation in our annual Showcase continues to increase, with 220 team entries in 2025 compared to last year’s 193. For students who met volunteers through the Showcase or CCADIS event, these interactions really stood out and helped boost aspirations:

While our Industry Engagement offer aims to broaden students’ understanding of technology careers and provide relatable role models, it’s important to note that many teachers and students also noticed the clear impact these encounters had on both their confidence in themselves and their ideas, and their communication skills.

We love hearing these success stories and are determined to keep evolving our offer for schools so that even more young people can benefit from the career insights and confidence boosts that come from interacting with our brilliant volunteers. If you’re an educator wondering how Industry Engagement can complement your Apps for Good delivery, please get in touch!

As always, the impact described by students and teachers is down to our Industry Volunteers. Thank you to everyone who has delivered sessions, reviewed or judged app prototypes, provided feedback and participated in panel discussions. We’re delighted that volunteers continue to find their experience with Apps for Good rewarding, and that it enables them to increase the amount of time they spend volunteering - as demonstrated by the figures below:

For Duncan, our 2025 Volunteer of the Year, joining classrooms virtually to hear their ideas is a highlight of his volunteering with Apps for Good: “The ideas themselves are great and I love the enthusiasm, the confidence and the willingness to learn.” Duncan also told us that his experience has positively impacted his own job satisfaction because “there’s a real sense of giving something back.” He continued, “I love that I am hopefully helping set some young people up with some real skills for the future.” Read more of Duncan’s story here.

This year’s volunteers represented 47 different companies. If you’d like to explore whether yours could help Apps for Good continue to inspire young people, please get in touch today!