SOCIAL VENTURES
Form the Future was launched at Allia Future Business Centre,
which offers flexible workspace, business support and a vibrant community for those creating change. Its four centres – spread between Cambridge, London and Peterborough – are dedicated to supporting businesses that have a positive impact on people and the planet, offering a place to start, develop and scale. Find out more at futurebusinesscentre.co.uk
maths – industries. While Anne believes progress has been made, she says there is still a way to go when it comes to getting the workforce of the future ready for the roles that will be vitally important to the industries of the future. “I don’t think the gap has closed, but there are a lot of factors working in our favour,” she says. “A new strategy for schools came in December 2017, placing greater focus on skills and how they develop. And we’ve seen an increased number of people looking at apprenticeships and technical routes into work,” says Anne. “From the perspective of the employers, I think Brexit has caused a lot of them to consider what they will do in the future if they don’t have as much access to talent as they do now. That means there’s more of a focus on
equipping local young people with the skills that businesses are looking for.” Form the Future was founded by Anne, alongside Michaela Eschbach, in 2015. Since then, it has forged strong links with the city’s business community with the help of initiatives like Launchpad, a free STEM programme. It sees schools partner up with businesses who allow students access to their facilities for a range of hands-on activities. Initially founded by Cambridge engineering firm Marshall, Anne’s team has been running the scheme for the past two years. It has the backing of big names in tech such as Arm, Amazon and TTP. “Launchpad has been transformational for us,” Anne says. “Marshall got in touch with us to ask if we could take it to the next level and it’s
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