Thriving in our tech masterclasses
November 2025
As told by Jade, our Careers & Development Lead in Manchester
This autumn term, 22 Year 12 students at Trinity CofE Sixth Form in Manchester, and 20 students at Lillian Baylis school in London, have been designing real websites for a culturally inclusive meal-prep business.
"I like how interactive it is, and the brief is very relevant to us."
Working in small teams, the students have been taking on roles you’d find in a real tech company: Scrum Master, Product Manager, User Researcher and more. For some of the students, this is a completely new and unfamiliar challenge - but they have all taken the task head on and are thriving.
“Exposing our students to the working world in school is invaluable. Day One’s masterclasses provide unique insight into the approach industry takes and our students really enjoy the practical hands-on approach.”
- Ronnie Adom, Head of IT at Lillian Baylis school
I really love connecting our young people with real-life tech professionals who volunteer with Day One. Hippo Digital are working with us in London while here in Manchester, software engineer Ahmed Vegah from MadeTech has been an outstanding support — delivering sessions alongside me each week, helping students explore agile working, user research and teamwork. The group also had a sprint review with Pavan Konanur from Hoja.ai, gaining valuable feedback on their progress and presentation skills, and Alex from Peak AI joined us for a session on design and how to use the software, Figma. These interactions are so important for young people who don’t know anybody working in an office, let alone the tech sector. It helps to inspire!
"I like how we are treated like work colleagues, not students."
If you or your company would like to volunteer, or provide paid work experience opportunities or Insight Days, we’d love to hear from you. Your experience could be the moment a young person realises they can belong and thrive in tech.
Daniel's AI and tech internship: part one
October 2025
This summer was our first as a charity, and we’re pleased to share we connected nine school leavers with paid work experience with Iris Software Group and Town Legal. They were paid Manchester and London Living Wage, plus a travel subsidy to overcome barriers to access. Hear from Daniel, age 18, in this video to learn about the support we gave him before his internship began. Follow-up to come!
Paid work experience for our school leavers
July 2025
Paid work experience is transformative for school leavers, and particularly important for young people without access to opportunities and support through their networks and connections. It helps them build skills, networks and the confidence to navigate professional life.
With youth unemployment in the UK at a record high, we are delighted to be working with IRIS Software Group and Town Legal LLP to make a difference. This summer, eight school leavers are benefitting from valuable work experience that’s paid! Here's Reuben and Sudi on day two of their week with Town Legal LLP, getting stuck into real-life tasks and learning the ins and outs of planning law.
We’re handling the payroll and providing support to ensure young people are ready to make the most of the opportunity. The young people are paid London Living Wage plus a travel subsidy, which means this powerful intervention costs just £500 per school leaver per week.
When young people have four or more encounters with employers, they are over 80% less likely to end up NEET. Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how we can work together to tackle youth unemployment and give opportunities to diverse talent.
Day One is now a registered charity!
June 2025
We are very pleased to announce that Day One Opportunities for School Leavers is now registered with the charity commission as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO). Our charity commission registration number is 1213814.
And here’s the small print… The Intrapreneurs Club Community Interest Community (CIC), a company ltd by guarantee (trading as Day One), has been converted from a CIC to a CIO. The Intrapreneurs Club CIC will be deregistered by Companies House.
The converted CIO with the name, "Day One Opportunities for School Leavers" is now registered solely with the Charity Commission. This conversion has not changed our legal identity as an organisation.
Want to find out more?
