Business at Breakfast: Building Bridges to Connect Businesses with Young Talent

Julie Poppleton

Director of Careers, Chase Terrace Academy

Our Vice President Julie Poppleton, is the Director of Careers for Chase Terrace Academy part of the John Taylor Multi Academy Trust. Julie has extensive experience of strategically leading careers at a Local, County and National level. Julie supports and mentors other Careers Leaders to develop their careers education information and guidance. Julie is Chair for a National Professional Careers Forum with over 250 registered careers professionals. Julie has nationally published articles, podcasts and has been a keynote speaker for a wide range of local and national organisations. Julie is intensely passionate about engagement and developing partnerships between education and business. Julie feels this is critical to enhance young people’s employability, inspire enterprise and entrepreneurship and opening up routes for all individuals to succeed in the labour market.

Laura-Jane Rawlings MBE DL

CEO, Youth Employment UK

Laura-Jane is a passionate campaigner for youth employment and the rights for all young people to access employment and have their voices heard on the issues that affect them.

Laura-Jane is a CEO & Board Member with more than 15+ years’ experience of leading both for profit and non-profit organisations. With personal experience of social inequality and poverty, Laura-Jane founded Youth Employment UK in 2012, believing that there was a need to put young people at the heart of youth employment policy and services on a local and national level. Youth Employment UK is an internationally regarded not-for-profit, social enterprise supporting young people, employers, educators, third sector organisations and policy colleagues.

Recognised as a leading youth employment expert Laura-Jane provides support, insight and expertise to many groups Co-Founder & Chair of the Youth Employment Group, Secretariat and Advisor to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Youth Employment, a founding Board Member of the Youth Futures Foundation and most recently appointed as a Governor of The Bedford College Group and a Deputy Lieutenant for Northamptonshire.

Laura-Jane has also co-authored a number of reports, and provided content for published works. Reports include: Role of the Family in Social Mobility, Commission on Post 16 Education, Impact of place on youth employment – APPG Report, Making youth employment policy work - APPG Report.

Steph Smith

Business Manager, Crown Highways

Steph works as Business Manager for Crown Highways and has over 20 years’ experience across a wide range of construction companies. Taking responsibility for driving inclusion, wellbeing, and employee engagement within the business, Steph takes a strategic approach to ensuring that every member of staff is valued for the contribution that they make and that recognition and reward for a job well done is a priority focus for Crown Highways.