Our Purpose

Tower Hamlets is one of the most important financial centres in the world. But it’s also a place of great poverty. A stone’s throw from the commanding commercial buildings, you will find significant unemployment and great hardship – a pattern entrenched through the generations.

Inter-generational unemployment is common, as is the need for welfare benefits. Without working parents or relatives in careers, young people have a restricted view of what’s possible.

• Tower Hamlets has the highest child poverty rate of any UK local authority according to research released by the End Child Poverty Coalition.
• Youth unemployment figures in Tower Hamlets remain the highest across London and the UK despite improved academic achievement and economic growth in the City and Canary Wharf.
• Teachers tell us that students aspirations are narrow and many lack awareness of the expectations of employers.
• Teachers also tell us that information about post-16 opportunities and the all-important access to informal networks that help students get on the career ladder are lacking.

By providing our local young people with essential skills, careers education and employment experiences, we improve their life chances and break this perpetual cycle for good. Let’s level the playing field and give every child the chance to live to their full potential.