This year marked the 10th anniversary of the EY Foundation, and I could not be prouder.

In our first year, we supported 250 young people; 10 years on and that number has grown to over 24,000. I was with the Foundation when it first formed, and it has been a privilege to have served at the charity and to have witnessed our growth over the last decade. I’ve hiked hills, ridden bikes, delivered workshops, given speeches, and had the good fortune to be part of some incredible experiences, working with some outstanding people and – of course – impacting lives for good.

24,000 young people. That’s 24,000 individuals who can now walk into shiny, corporate offices, look employers in the eye and shake their hands with confidence, knowing that opportunities are not the reserve of the privileged.

So, this year has been a bit of a party for the Foundation. Since July we have held numerous events to celebrate a decade of impact and the many supporters and young people who have worked with EY Foundation. We have:

Held Impact Awards in our four hubs:  

We celebrated supporters in Birmingham, London, Manchester and Glasgow with regional award ceremonies hosted by and featuring young people who’ve taken part in our programmes. We also introduced a new award for this milestone year – our Decade of Impact award to recognise individuals who have championed EY Foundation across the years.

Marked the moment as a team: 

You may not always see the fabulous, hardworking team who make what we do possible, but they are a team I’m honoured to lead. It was a joy to come together over the summer and recognise everything that’s been achieved so far.

Hosted a Decade of Impact Celebration Dinner: 

A major career highlight for me! Music from Jonathan Joseph, hosted by Amol Rajan, and as if that wasn’t enough, what made the evening especially memorable were the speeches from our programme alumni – Chelsea, Olivia and Jack. Everyone in the room felt the power of their stories and the impact quality work experience and employability training has had on their lives.

Toured UK offices with our EY Roadshows:

It was fantastic to bring the EY Foundation to EY offices in Cambridge, Reading, Southampton, Bristol, Luton, Newcastle, Edinburgh and Aberdeen and welcome more brilliant people into our community. During the tour, we were inspired by people's own social mobility stories and their passion for our cause. We’ll be rounding off our tour with visits to EY Leeds and Liverpool offices next year.

Taken to Parliament:

We couldn’t mark this milestone without our first Parliamentary Reception, could we? Youth representatives, MPs, industry leaders, and employers came together to discuss the urgency of supporting young people into work and their share their commitment to making a real difference. I was thrilled to speak about our work to date and mission for the next 10 years alongside our Youth Advisory Board Chair, Natalie; Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern MP; Stuart Andrew MP; and EY UK & Ireland Regional Managing Partner elect Anna Anthony.

Launched our ‘Access their skills’ campaign: 

Our latest campaign highlights the bags of potential young people from low-income backgrounds bring to the workplace. We know young people who qualify for free school meals are intelligent, resilient, entrepreneurial, creative. Accessing their skills benefits us all. I’m particularly proud that young people who took part in our programmes helped to shape the film – one of our alumni even features in it!

As well as celebrating what we’ve achieved in the last decade, we look forward to what we are determined to achieve in the next.

We know there is more to be done. The reality is that in the UK where you are from and the circumstances you are born into still play a massive role in your direction and your life outcomes. By the age of 27, young people from low-income backgrounds are three times more likely to be unemployed and will on average earn 50% less than their better off peers. 

So, how do we affect the change so badly needed for our young people? What will the next ten years at EY Foundation look like?

We’re going to be bigger, better and bolder – because we have to be. We have a new ten-year ambition to ensure all young people on Free School Meals have an employment and earnings potential that is equitable to other young people in the UK. This will be a challenge, but it’s one I'm unapologetic about. 

To meet our ambition, we will continue to deliver our pre-employability programmes and focus on creating a work experience revolution; working with employers to build more inclusive recruitment processes and progression pathways; develop new ways to deliver high-quality careers education; and ensure the future of work is fully inclusive for all young people. 

None of this is possible on our own and I look forward to working with young people, the government, employers, volunteers, and supporters to tackle one of the most urgent issues facing this country.  

I am optimistic about what we can achieve – I want to fill the next 10 years with hope and excitement for our young people. I believe if we work together, we can get there quicker and connect businesses with fantastic untapped talent, drive growth and create lasting impact for future generations of young people.

To those who have enabled our success over the last decade, thank you. And to those who will work with us over the next, let’s get going...