Business & Education Succeeding Together (BEST)


Bringing schools, colleges and businesses together to prepare young people for the workplace.

Our aim is to raise young people’s aspirations and to develop their employability skills through work related learning.

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BEST Services

Logo with BEST - Business & Education Succeeding Together

About BEST

Many Education Business Partnerships have disappeared in the last ten years, but BEST hasn’t – established in 1993 and still offering the same service (and more) to schools and employers across London.

Registered Charity Number: 1078992


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Pre-16 work experience

We minimise the stress for busy school coordinators. For a nominal fee you can access our web-based system WebView and keep track of your students’ selections.


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Post-16 work experience

We offer a range of placements to support A-Level and vocational courses. These can be within specific industry sectors to help your students with their career decisions.


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Work experience preparation

We can also deliver work experience preparation assemblies and workshops to prepare your students for their placements.


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Careers events

We arrange careers events which enable your students to interact with employers. Using our extensive range of business contacts, we arrange for employers to visit your school to take part in events which can include speed networking and mock interviews.


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Parents’ evenings

We offer support at parents evenings by delivering talks on topics such as work experience and post-16 decisions and pathways.


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Extended placements

We arrange extended placements for post-16 vocational students to give them the opportunity to gain experience in their chosen field over a longer period of time.


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Apprenticeship awareness

We have extensive knowledge of recruiting for and running apprenticeship programmes. We can give accurate, up-to-date information to your Y11 and Y13 students about apprenticeships.


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Targeted NEET support

We can offer support tailored specifically for young people at risk of NEET. This includes workshops and 1:1 careers guidance.


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Gatsby benchmarks

We have a level 6 qualified careers adviser who worked as a Careers Lead in a secondary school for 10 years. We can work with you to identify if you have any gaps in your careers offer and support you to meet the benchmarks.


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BEST Awards

We hold an annual awards evening for our students and employers to recognise and celebrate their work experience successes.


A young person who has four or more meaningful encounters with an employer is 86% less likely to be unemployed or not in education or training.

Education and Employers Taskforce

Worth a look.

“I have worked with BEST for over 10 years. They are very professional, extremely organised, flexible and always willing to answer any questions I have. They have a genuine interest in ensuring that the students gain the most benefit from work experience and work related learning.”

WRL Coordinator, Burntwood School

Funders & Partners


Supported by Wandsworth Borough Council, Mayor of London, Apprenticeships, Pearson, HABC, Education and skills funding agency, matrix, ilm, European Union Social Fund

Worth Enquiring