At Working Options we believe skills and confidence are the real currency for young people preparing for the future of work. That belief has been at the heart of our involvement in the London AI Campus, a pioneering partnership between Camden Learning, Camden Council and Google.

The Campus was designed to give young people the skills and confidence to navigate an AI-driven future. In its first year, the results have been clear, published in the recent Insights Report: while attainment levels have risen, another profound impact has been on career readiness. And it is here that we have played a role.

OUR ROLE IN THE CAMPUS
Working Options led on the mentoring programme, co-designing and delivering training workshops for mentors and providing ongoing support throughout the year. Students were encouraged to take responsibility for logistics and agendas, building confidence in professional correspondence and workplace behaviours.

Initially, mentors were drawn from AI specialists, but the greatest value has come from helping students build confidence in professional interactions. In Year Two, Working Options is supporting the Campus team to broaden the pool of mentors, ensuring young people gain exposure to diverse industries and career paths.

FINDINGS OF THE INSIGHTS REPORT
School AI literacy is currently patchy: while 71% of Campus students were familiar with Generative AI tools, there was a clear gap in the fundamentals, including understanding training data and bias – a theme picked up. The Campus shifted its curriculum to ensure students aren’t just users of AI but truly understand the engine under the hood.

Confidence is the real currency: while attainment levels have risen, the most profound impact has been on career readiness. Through the Campus’ partnership with Working Options, students are showing dramatic improvements in communication, leadership, and professional confidence. They aren’t just learning to code; they are learning to lead.

The power of a ‘third space’: by operating in a space that feels “related, but separate” from school, students are finding it easier to adopt professional behaviours.

Teacher-student AI divide: many educators feel their students are outpacing them in AI literacy. In Year Two, Camden Learning is doubling down on teacher support to ensure teachers feel just as empowered as their students.

No Black Boxes: Not just the name of the brilliant UCL programme that ran at the Campus, but also what the Campus learned from recent projects with Knowledge Quarter employers. The curriculum works because it makes abstract concepts tangible with real-world examples.

For us, these findings reinforce the importance of confidence as the foundation of career readiness. Through our mentoring programme and our own Skills Builder‑accredited AI in Creativity workshop, we are helping young people not only understand AI but also practise professional behaviours in real‑world settings. We share Camden Learning’s commitment to supporting teachers, and our mentors continue to make AI tangible by linking theory to practice. Above all, the Campus demonstrates how role models and mentoring unlock confidence, which is the real currency for success in education, work, and life.

REAL STORIES, REAL IMPACT
The impact of our involvement is best seen through the voices of young people themselves.

Saira, a Campus student, reflected on her favourite speaker:
“She [Safa Abbas] comes from the same Pakistani background as me and my sister, and when she was talking about her background and how she was raised, it was just very similar to us, we felt like we could relate to her.”

Saffa Abbas, a Machine Learning Scientist and Working Options Ambassador, demonstrates the power of relatable role models in inspiring confidence and ambition among students.

EVENTS
In May 2025, young people from the AI Campus joined industry professionals on stage at our Future of Work Symposium, in a room with 100 young people from across England and 100 professionals from across industry, all sharing their experiences and highlighting how initiatives like the Campus are helping them upskill in AI, a crucial future-of-work skill.

This builds on our wider reach: in 2025, Working Options will have engaged over 90,158 young people in-person and more than 2.5 million online across England and Wales. Our involvement with The London AI Campus is part of this bigger story, ensuring confidence, communication, and career readiness remain at the core of education for young people to best prepare them for what the future employment landscape will be.

SUCCESS
The London AI Campus shows what is possible when schools, councils, employers, and charities collaborate to prepare young people for the future. For Working Options, the message is clear: confidence is the real currency. By equipping students with the skills and self-belief to lead, we are helping them unlock opportunities in education, work, and life.

If you would like to find out more about the Campus, click here.
If you would like to find out more about our programmes in schools, click here.
If you would like to watch some of our careers inspired digital content on TikTok, click here.