Your Future

What is Your Future?

Your Future supports young people aged 16–19 to build their skills, gain experience of the workplace and prepare for their next steps.

We deliver different versions of Your Future across the UK. The length, content and eligibility criteria can vary depending on the programme and partnership, so please check the details of the individual opportunity before applying.

All Your Future programmes are designed to help young people develop their employability, understand more about the world of work and feel better prepared for their next step.

Your Future: Work Ready

Your Future: Work Ready is our employment-focused version of Your Future.

It is specifically designed for young people who are approaching the end of education, or who have recently left education, do not yet have a confirmed destination and want support to move into employment or an apprenticeship.

Work Ready is shorter and more focused than some of our other Your Future programmes. It combines practical employability and job-search support with workplace experience, live application activity and structured follow-up support.

As part of Work Ready, young people will:

• develop practical employability and job-search skills;
• receive support with CVs, applications and interview preparation;
• gain workplace experience and/or take part in workplace visits;
• explore suitable job and apprenticeship opportunities;
• develop a personalised progression plan; and
• receive follow-up support to help them continue progressing towards work.

Work Ready is not primarily a work-experience or internship programme. It is for young people who are ready and motivated to take active steps towards employment or an apprenticeship.

Who can apply for Work Ready?

To apply for Your Future: Work Ready, you will normally need to:

• be aged 16–19;
• meet the EY Foundation’s eligibility criteria, which may include having been eligible for Free School Meals, a college bursary or Education Maintenance Allowance;
• be due to leave school or college within approximately three months of the programme starting, or have left education within the previous nine months and currently be out of education, employment and training;
• have no confirmed destination, such as a job, apprenticeship, university or college place;
• be genuinely interested in moving into employment or an apprenticeship;
• has realistic employment or apprenticeship aspirations, taking into account their current qualifications;
• be available for the full programme, induction and follow-up support.

You do not need to know exactly what career you want. Work Ready may be particularly suitable if you are interested in areas such as business, administration, finance, technology, professional services or related roles and are open to exploring different routes into work.

Other Your Future programmes

Alongside Work Ready, we also deliver other versions of Your Future with selected partners.

These programmes share the same overall aim of helping young people build employability skills, gain workplace experience and prepare for their next steps, but they may follow a different format.

For example, programmes such as Your Future: Warwick and Your Future: Perth & Kinross may run over two weeks and include a broader combination of employability training, workplace experience and progression support.

The length, content and eligibility criteria can therefore vary between Your Future programmes.

Please check the individual programme information below before applying to make sure the opportunity is right for you.

Current Your Future opportunities

Ready to apply?

Please check the eligibility criteria for the programme you are interested in before completing your application.