Our Story

Making ‘that difference’ is why ELSA exists.

Our Vision
A world where every young person believes that a successful future is achievable.

Our Mission
To empower every single young person we meet to achieve a successful future.
We achieve this by delivering the following:
E- Education through the delivery of high-quality flexible programmes;
L- Learning tailored to individual needs;
S- Skills that transfer from education to employment;
A- Achievement, leading to brighter futures

ELSA Next Generation is a not-for-profit business, that delivers bespoke educational, career-focused programmes to young people. ELSA stands for Education, Learning, Skills and Achievement. When working with young people, our educational programmes provide learning opportunities that enhance the skill set of our young people, allowing them to achieve greater success. Over 20,000 young people have been inspired so far, supported by 500+ businesses across 50+ educational settings.

We believe everyone has the potential to secure an inspiring, successful future, whilst recognising our current education system is simply not sufficient in ensuring that young people are prepared for the professional world. 
For many, school life can be too restrictive in its learning style and increasingly focused on assessment and exams.

At ELSA we know that not one style of learning suits all.

“If someone cannot learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn”

Our programmes are interactive, practical and often use current business recruitment and talent acquisition methods.
ELSA events encourage entrepreneurship and enterprise, with young people engaging through a hands-on approach to learning, while also enhancing their teamwork and social skills. ELSA understands that interpersonal skills such as critical-thinking, collaboration, resilience, time management and flexibility are vital for the workplace, and these will be skills that are valued highly by employers in the future. Technological advances in our places of work are leading to an increased need for problem-solving and innovation.

ELSA places greater emphasis on current work awareness skills and life skills which enables young people to realise and explore their future career possibilities. Working with young people in both mainstream and specialist education, we deliver workshops which encourage debate, discussion, integrity, and aspiration, while also increasing individual self-awareness and ambition.

Today’s employers look for confident and knowledgeable young individuals to join their teams. Our programmes teach the skills and qualities that are required in the workplace.

Through our action-orientated programmes, the resources we provide, and the wonderful support from local, national, and international employers, young people are educated about the opportunities that exist for them. ELSA’s work is made possible by the exceptional support of our enthusiastic business and community volunteers. At every event, we have business volunteers from various sectors to help coach students in specific company approaches to recruitment, as well as using their own unique stories to inspire and raise aspirations.

Our programmes are adapted for the audience and can deliver whether it is one-to-one coaching or to an audience of over 200.

We seek to engage every young person that we meet, with our goal of bridging the gap between education and employment for young people of the Next Generation. ELSA enables and empowers young people to explore, acquire and celebrate their qualities, skills and potential; we want them to strive to achieve their very best and be ready for their life beyond the school gates.