A successful careers programme for secondary school pupils in West Cumbria is reaching new heights thanks to the backing of a collaboration of three major supply chain companies.
The Link brings together local schools and employers to help young people, in particular those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to develop skills and gain experience of the workplace.
AssetForward – a collaboration between Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, AtkinsRéalis and Amey – have joined forces with employability skills provider Inspira as strategic partner to help fund, design and deliver The Link programme during the 2025/ 2026 academic year.
The three companies have worked as one to provide experienced representatives and early careers role models to support activities delivered through the programme.
Since the start of the school year in September until the end of March this year, 3,442 pupils have been engaged through activities ranging from world of work events, mock interviews and speed networking to CV writing, interactive skills workshops and careers fairs.
AssetForward’s support has helped achieve a significant uplift in outputs for the first two terms of the academic year in comparison to previous years.
A total of 45 events have been delivered across 12 secondary schools in the region, while the programme has been supported by 90 employers and 316 volunteers.
It has also paved the way for new features that enhance the students’ experience including lunch and learn session for employers, specific activities for home schooled students and mini work experience placements for Year 8 students.
Deborah Naylor, partnership manager at Inspira, says: “The Link programme is working extremely well and demand from local schools is high.
“It’s fantastic to see the reach and impact it is having on young people. Thanks to the involvement of AssetForward and the engagement from supply chain companies, we have developed new activities designed to help ensure students get the right levels of support they need to they can step confidently into the world of work.”
The Link has two core strands of activity – Skills Boost sessions focused on developing essential employability skills, and Pathfinder sessions supporting career awareness, exploration, and planning, helping students to inform their GCSE options and further education and training opportunities that help them to achieve their career ambitions.
Over 1,100 secondary school students from across West Cumbria will gather to meet more than 50 exhibitors and take part in a selection of the 30-plus interactive workshops that will be promoting career opportunities in a wide range of industry sectors.
AssetForward is both sponsoring and exhibiting at the 2026 event, which is organised by Morgan Sindall Infrastructure’s social enterprise All Together Cumbria.
Eldon Garnett, managing director – nuclear at Morgan Sindall Infrastructure, says: “I’m delighted that our strategic partnership with Inspira and The Link is enabling the programme to go from strength to strength, furthering our shared aims to help students within the local community to prepare for and gain awareness of career opportunities and enhance their progression outcomes.
“The power of The Link to enable and facilitate the involvement of employers, such as ourselves within the AssetForward collaboration, provides the key ingredient in delivering a highly impactful careers programme for West Cumbria.”
AssetForward is a collaborative initiative focused on supporting the design and delivery of complex asset management projects in the nuclear sector.
This partnership brings together deep expertise and a shared commitment to innovation, safety, and sustainability, with the aim of driving long-term improvements and leaving a positive legacy for future generations.
Senior representatives from AssetForward, Inspira, local businesses and local schools gathered for a special event last year to celebrate the collaboration and its support for The Link.
They heard about the positive impact the programme is having on current students at the Energy Coast University Technical College and gained the perspectives of former students who benefitted from being involved who have now gone on to secure apprenticeships with Morgan Sindall Infrastructure.
