Impact Report 2025/26: Inspired by Industry

We know that transitions into the world of work are more successful if young people have built the essential, computing and digital literacy skills that enable them to harness technology and adapt to change with confidence and curiosity. But that’s only part of the picture; exposure to how workplaces operate through meaningful, embedded experiences is also key. This isn’t new, but the increasing pressure on school budgets and resources, post-pandemic issues around social development, disengagement and absence, and fundamental changes to the labour market and entry-level jobs mean that young people’s access to opportunities to build their careers knowledge and workplace readiness is a persistent challenge.

The recent Young people and work: interim report from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) highlighted that too many young people enter the labour market without experience of working life, and that ‘disadvantaged students are significantly less likely than their better-off peers to have taken part in workplace visits, job shadowing and other career-development activities that connect them to people in work.’ The lack of work experience and insight into career pathways that might be available to them is also a concern for young people themselves, with the 2026 Youth Voice Census reporting that ‘a lack of work experience remains the biggest employment barrier’, and that ‘young people’s ability to enter work is shaped by what is available around them.'

Research from Engineering UK highlights careers education and employer engagement as an important way to challenge stereotypes about STEM careers. They also report lower take-up of STEM-related careers activities among female students compared to their peers, which may contribute to the fact that girls remain under-represented across most engineering and technology education pathways.

If Apps for Good is to have the best chance of contributing to our long-term outcome of a more diverse, representative technology sector, focusing solely on the skills that matter would be a missed opportunity. We can leverage our network of industry professionals to bring industry insights and inspiration to young people. According to Education and Employers, employer encounters should be ‘authentic, multiple, and varied, assumption-challenging, and appropriate to the activity’ in order to be impactful. The latest guidance from the DfE and the Gatsby benchmarks emphasise that all experiences should be ‘meaningful’, which includes having a specific shared purpose, two-way interaction between students and employers and preparation and reflection time.

These principles are threaded through the Apps for Good approach to Industry Engagement, which is seen by students and teachers as one of the most impactful parts of our project-based courses.

When young people pitch their app ideas to industry volunteers, they practise and build their speaking and listening skills, and develop strategies to manage pressure, similar to that experienced in the workplace. These outcomes directly support that interpersonal confidence flagged by some employers in the DWP review, which can make it difficult to adapt to the workplace (e.g. speaking to customers, answering the phone, dealing with pressure and operating in unfamiliar environments).

Our courses help young people learn about existing social or climate action apps, then they create their own real solutions to real challenges in a way that often reflects how tech products are actually built. Educators particularly value this aspect of the course. Staci Oxlade, Head of Computer Science and Creative iMedia at Priory Academy, liked how the course was “close to real life and how they could work on a project”, while Andrea Durak, Head of Computer Science at Leventhorpe School described it as “a good opportunity for group work in a structured way with a real-life context.”

Every student team that participates in an Industry Engagement session or Showcase receives feedback on their app idea from an industry volunteer, meaning its development is directly informed by how real tech products are built. This year, we were delighted to see an increase in Showcase entries compared to 2024/25. We also loved bringing together student teams from Countesthorpe Academy and Bosworth Academy for an in-person pitching event, where Lenny (Y7 student at Bosworth Academy) told us how sharing his idea with product expert Marc Abraham boosted his confidence: “Speaking with a professional and getting positive feedback from someone who knows makes you think, ‘I did really good at this!’ I like that feeling, and it makes me willing to build upon some of the other suggestions he made.”

The fact that this feedback is delivered by an industry volunteer means young people are exposed to role models outside their existing circle and learn about tech careers from people with first hand experience. We consistently hear that this broadens young people’s understanding of what it means and looks like to work in tech.

Click here to read more about how real-world contexts and our project-based learning approach broaden young people’s career knowledge and support more of them to consider technology pathways.

In 2025/26, 95% of surveyed volunteers agreed that Apps for Good increased their experience in supporting young people and 68% said that their Apps for Good experience made them feel inspired. Interested in how you can help us continue to bring high-quality industry engagement to schools? Visit our Volunteers page to learn more!