Placements with purpose: empowering learners for next-step readiness — Evelyn Haywood and Gareth Reynolds

In this fireside chat, Gareth Reynolds from ASDAN and Evelyn Haywood from Skills Builder explore how we can make careers education as coherent, inclusive and purposeful as possible. Using 'Placements with purpose' as a practical framework, the conversation considers how employer encounters, work experience and other accredited learning connect and build learners skills across Years 7 to 11. The discussion will focus on how we empower learners to recognise, articulate and evidence their strengths and skills across different work-related experiences. Gareth and Evelyn will reflect on what makes placements meaningful and how schools, employers and partners can work together to support every learner’s next steps.

About the speakers

Gareth Reynolds is ASDAN’s Director Education and Impact, leading work to strengthen impact, growth and inclusive opportunity across the UK and internationally. He brings experience across schools, further education, Russell Group higher education, awarding organisations and professional bodies, alongside governance insight as a former MAT trustee and current college governor. Gareth combines practitioner experience, strategic leadership and product thinking to help create learning pathways that recognise what learners can do, not only where they start. His work focuses on building readiness, confidence and progression through meaningful, skills-based learning that engages, elevates and empowers learners to succeed in education, training, work and life. 

Evelyn Haywood is the Director of Education at Skills Builder Partnership and a former Science teacher. Over ten years, she has shaped an approach where skills like speaking, listening and problem solving are integrated into a balanced and aspirational curriculum. She leads on the development and implementation of educational strategy across primaries, secondaries, specialist settings, colleges and MATs. Evelyn leads on strategic planning, programme design, curriculum creation, and end-to-end operational delivery management and impact measurement. Evelyn contributes to national conversations on curriculum, careers, enrichment and AI through targeted policy work and advisory groups.