Leeds Business Anchors open doors to young people with care experience

Career Explorer Week gives young people first-hand experience of careers across finance, engineering, construction, law and technology.

• Six major Leeds employers from the Leeds Business Anchors network joined forces with Leeds City Council and Leeds City College for a supported week of workplace visits and practical activities.
• The programme was designed exclusively for care-experienced young people aged 16 and over.
• Participants explored career and apprenticeship routes while building confidence and workplace skills.

Six of the city’s leading employers from the Leeds Business Anchors network joined forces with Leeds City Council and Leeds City College to give young people with care experience an inside look at the world of work and the career opportunities available across Leeds.

Career Explorer Week (19 to 23 October 2026) offered a supported programme of workplace visits, practical activities and conversations with colleagues at Leeds Building Society, Mott MacDonald, Balfour Beatty, DLA Piper, Addleshaw Goddard and CGI.

Designed exclusively for care-experienced young people aged 16 and over, the programme helped participants explore careers they may not previously have considered, hear how people built their own careers and learn more about jobs and apprenticeships.

The week began at Leeds Building Society, where participants took part in a session on asking effective questions, visited a branch and learned about careers in customer service, finance and professional services. They also received practical advice on job applications and interviews.

At Mott MacDonald, the group explored careers in engineering, project management, the environment and ecology, before meeting colleagues working in different roles. Balfour Beatty then hosted a visit to a construction site and site office in Calverley, giving participants first-hand insight into a live infrastructure project and the range of careers involved in construction.

DLA Piper and Addleshaw Goddard introduced the group to legal and non-legal careers in law firms with DLA Piper delivering a masterclass in how to negotiate like a lawyer and Addleshaw Goddard focusing on becoming workplace ready and developing skills such as collaboration and AI proficiency. The programme concluded at CGI, where participants learned about technology and consultancy, completed a team-building challenge and celebrated the end of the week.

Alongside introducing different industries, Career Explorer Week was designed to develop confidence, communication, problem-solving and teamwork, with support available throughout the programme and guidance offered on next steps, job applications and apprenticeships.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, said: "The Leeds Anchor Network is committed to making a positive difference to the lives of people across our city, delivering inclusive growth which provides opportunities and improves residents' quality of life.

"Career Explorer Week provides vital opportunities to young people who may ordinarily have struggled to access such experiences, and we hope it will provide a useful building block as they move towards employment and a career."

Andrew Barker, Account Director at Balfour Beatty and Chair of the Business Anchors Network, said: “The purpose of Leeds Business Anchors is to bring together the resources and influence of some of the city’s largest businesses, so we can deliver more for Leeds and local communities. Career Explorer Week is a perfect example of this in practice – by working together we’ve been able to design a cross-sector programme that gives young people real insight into professional careers and workplaces across different industries. It was particularly important to us to make sure the programme is ringfenced to young people who may not otherwise get access to high-quality work experience opportunities”.

Tom Wrigglesworth, who represents Leeds Building Society on the Business Anchors Network, said: “Talent is everywhere, but access to workplace experience and professional networks is not always equal. We are proud to support a programme that gives care-experienced young people practical advice, meaningful workplace experiences and the opportunity to build connections for the future.

“By welcoming young people into our organisation and working alongside other major employers, we hope we have helped them see the range of careers available in Leeds and feel more confident about taking their next step.”

Young people who attended the programme described how it helped them feel more confident about trying new things and meeting new people, that they gained insight into roles and careers they didn’t know about, and that the experience strengthened their career aspirations. All the participants said they would recommend the experience to others, and rated the week as ‘excellent’.