About the EY Foundation

Why we exist

One in four young people are eligible for free school meals in the UK. That's over two million young people.

This can bring a lack of opportunity, with young people from a low-income background three times more likely to be unemployed by the age of 27. And those that do get a job will earn just over half as much as their better-off peers at the age of 28.

The EY Foundation exists to right this wrong and level the playing field. We want all young people to have the same opportunity to succeed, which in turn introduces employers to more diverse, untapped talent.

Watch our campaign video to see the skills they bring and find out more about what we do here. 

What we do

More than 1 in 5 young people in the UK are eligible for free school meals. That's over two million young people.

Young people from low-income backgrounds are three times more likely to be unemployed by the age of 27. This negatively impacts their chance of future success, their wellbeing, their local community, and wider society.  That's why the EY Foundation exists - to help level the playing field so that all young people have the same opportunities to succeed.

An independent charity, we bring young people and employers together to deliver high-quality employability skills training, paid work experience, and mentoring. Our programmes build aspiration, confidence, and a greater sense of purpose.

We operate in regions across the country, enabling young people from a low-income background to access the knowledge, skills, and experience needed to help them thrive in the workplace.

It's not just the young people who benefit – by collaborating closely with employers, our professional, insight-based approach directly benefits them too. By working with local talent, employers can build a more diverse workforce and increase staff engagement.

Our delivery focused approach generates insights to influence the actions of business and government, helping ensure all young people from a low-income background can succeed in the workplace.

Our priorities

Drawing on our areas of expertise, we have identified four areas of focus to support young people directly and help achieve systemic change.

Our values

• Growth mindset - To increase our impact on more young people through dedication, innovation and hard work.
  
• Courage - To use new learning and diversity of thought to challenge the status quo; embracing lessons learned even if a project misses its targets.
• Empower our team - Everyone is supported to succeed in their role through opportunities to learn, develop and take on new challenges.
• Collaboration - To build relationships internally and externally, to share ideas, embed an inclusive approach and achieve bigger outcomes.

Our relationship with EY

We are an independent registered charity, however we are a member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited. We are extremely grateful to have a five-year funding agreement and Master Services Agreement in place with EY, supporting us to carry out our work and make a positive impact on young people and social entrepreneurs.

Please note we are not a grant-giving organisation and rely on the support of funders such as EY to run our programmes.