Bankside Futures is a career discovery programme for young people aged 16 – 18 who study or live in Southwark, designed to prepare them for the world of work by meeting a diverse range of employers across several industries in Bankside and creating a social action project.
Bankside Futures offers work experience with a twist as the young people discover new career pathways, take part in tailored workshops, work experience mornings, networking opportunities and mock interviews. Additionally, in small teams, they use the skills they’re developing to create a social action project about an issue they care about that is affecting Southwark and present this to friends, family, employers and local businesses at the end of the programme.
Bankside Futures 2026
Bankside Futures 2026 runs from Monday 6 to Friday 17 July. Bankside Futures is delivered in partnership with Sculpt, a Southwark-based charity with 20+ years’ experience of working with young people aged 14-25, empowering them to shape their futures.
How your organisation can get involved
We need Bankside employers to help deliver Bankside Futures. Businesses and volunteers are key to the success of the programme, and there are a multitude of ways that you can get involved, including:
Employer encounters: deliver a workshop to develop young people’s skills and knowledge in a particular area, run a career spotlight session to share your career journey and the different roles in your organisation, or give a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of your workplace. Or, co-deliver a session with another Bankside business working in the same sector or industry.
Speed-networking: join this fun, fast-paced activity to help young people practice their networking skills and build their confidence in talking to new people.
Mini mock interviews: volunteer to host short interviews to help the young people gain useful experience of answering questions about themselves and their achievements.
In-kind support: can your organisation host Bankside Futures this summer? Another way to support the programme is to share meeting and event spaces for the speed-networking and end-of-programme celebration, or to host Bankside Futures for the two weeks it runs. We need a space that is big enough for 25-30 people, to use as a ‘classroom’ for some of the employer encounters as well as workshops delivered by Sculpt, and where the young people can develop their social action projects. If your organisation might be able to help with venues or other resources, please contact Rachel Nicholson.
Interested in being part of Bankside Futures this summer? Come along to the Business Briefing on Wednesday 13 May to find out more, or complete the Expression of Interest Form so that the Sculpt team can follow up with you.
For young people
If you are a young person aged 16-18 years old, and are living or studying in Southwark, you can learn more about Bankside Futures and how you can apply by visiting the Sculpt website here.
Our impact: Bankside Futures 2025
Over two action-packed weeks in July 2025, 20 young people from eight different schools and colleges across Southwark participated in Bankside Futures, along with 25 Bankside businesses and over 100 enthusiastic volunteers. Find out more about last summer’s Bankside Futures and the impact it had here.
