Enterprise and entrepreneurship skills matter for every student and graduate, no matter where their career journey takes them. Having an enterprising mindset helps people spot opportunities, adapt quickly, and respond confidently to a fast‑changing labour market. It also plays an important role in wellbeing, resilience, and social mobility.

Across the sector, we’re seeing a welcome rise in careers services taking responsibility for enterprise and entrepreneurship education. With this shift comes an important question: How can we ensure careers professionals feel confident and supported to have enterprising conversations?

That’s where our work comes in……

Why we need entrepreneurial Careers Professionals

As graduates face increasingly complex career landscapes, agility and enterprising thinking are becoming essential. And these aren’t just skills for students, they’re equally important for the people who guide them.

Since 2018, I’ve been working with the Graduate Futures Institute (GFI) and Enterprise Educators UK (EEUK) to explore what entrepreneurial practice looks like within careers work. This has been through the work of an Enterprise & Entrepreneurship Task Group, with a group of exceptionally talented individuals from across the sector.  This has included primary research with careers professionals, which has been invaluable in shaping training and resources that genuinely meet their needs.

One interviewee summed it up perfectly:

“It’s important to become a more entrepreneurial careers adviser, because if you can practise the value of an entrepreneurial mindset in a profession you are familiar, qualified in and comfortable with, then you start to see how you can help others.”

That insight continues to guide our approach today.

Expanding our reach: partnering with the Careers Development Institute (CDI)

Until recently, much of our insight has come from Higher Education careers teams. To broaden the reach of our work, I reached out to the Careers Development Institute (CDI), a diverse community of career advisers, coaches, managers, researchers, in schools, colleges, universities and training providers across the UK and internationally.

I was especially keen to explore how we could collaborate to strengthen enterprise and entrepreneurship support across the wider careers development sector.  So, I’m delighted to share that earlier this month, Dr Matthew Draycott and I were invited by their Senior Professional Development & Standards Manager, Oliver Jenkins, to deliver our first joint workshop with CDI. The session was hands‑on, practical, and designed to help careers professionals feel confident, informed, and ready to bring enterprising thinking into their everyday conversations.

In the workshop, we explored how to:

• Understand the core skills behind enterprise and entrepreneurship
• Recognise where these skills show up in real‑world contexts
• Support clients to reflect on their strengths and opportunities
• Build a tailored Resource Matrix to connect learners to networks and next steps

Colleagues took part in discussions, used practical tools, and shared examples from their own work. Whether participants were new to enterprise or looking to refresh their approach, the session aimed to create a supportive space to learn and experiment.

I’m excited to see how this collaboration with CDI evolves over the year and will continue to share updates as and when things develop.

What else is coming up this year?

Outputs from our two Jisc‑funded research projects

I am excited to share our task group have secured two consecutive rounds of Jisc funding, supporting deeper exploration into enterprise, entrepreneurship, and careers work.

• 2025 Project: Student perspectives on enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability
  Read more here: Student perspectives on enterprise, entrepreneurship and employability | Luminate
• 2026 Project: Empowering Careers Professionals in Enterprise and Entrepreneurship
  This study focuses on professionals who self‑identify as having low confidence in enterprise and entrepreneurship. We are working with a panel to understand their needs and will create a suite of digital resources to support their development.

These insights will play a key role in shaping future training and support across the sector.

The launch of our EEUK and GFI Special Interest Group and Community of Practice

We’re also launching a new collaborative group between Enterprise Educators UK and the Graduate Futures Institute. This will be announced at:

• The Graduate Futures Institute Conference in July
• IEEC (Enterprise Educators UK Conference) in September

This group will offer opportunities for shared learning, cross‑membership events, and collaborative projects. If you’re interested in getting involved, I’d love to hear from you.

Looking ahead to the future…

Enterprise and entrepreneurship education continues to evolve and so does our work. I’m looking forward to deepening our partnerships, expanding our research, and supporting more careers professionals to feel confident in this space.

Thank you for reading….more updates coming soon!