This session will look at some of the challenges in education, where social enterprise has a role to play, and
what it will take to make systemic changes. We will look at Enabling Enterprise as a case study whilst also touching on some broader themes.

Tom graduated from the School with a BA in Economics and Management in 2007. He is the Founder and CEO of Enabling Enterprise, an organisation that works to ensure that one day, all students develop the enterprise skills, experiences of work, and aspirations to succeed. Tom founded the organisation in 2009 after two years of teaching in a school in East London as part of the Teach First programme. He did so in order to address a gap in the education system, particularly for the most disadvantaged students, that he noticed during this time, which was that efforts were focused on students’ grades but not on whether they had the skills and experiences of the workplace to be successful after school.

Enabling Enterprise now works in partnership with over 110 employers and 230 schools to build eight critical enterprise or life skills: Working in teams; leading; creativity; problem solving; presenting; listening and understanding; aiming high; and staying positive.

Tom has grown the organisation from working with a single class to over 60,000 students in the last year alone with a team of 28 staff. Enabling Enterprise has received the PwC Social Impact Award in 2015 and ‘Education Partnership of the Year’ by Education Investor Awards in 2014.