Circle Collective

Who we are

Helping young people find sustainable work 

Circle Collective supports young people experiencing a range of barriers to find permanent, life-changing work. The charity, Circle Community, runs our successful #BackYourFuture  programme, while our social enterprise, Circle Collective, runs two streetwear stores that serve as a training ground for our young people. We aim for all profits from our stores to be fully reinvested back into the training of young people and #BreakingTheCircle of youth unemployment.

Circle Community is a not-for-profit charity based in two of London’s most deprived areas: Hackney and Lewisham.  We believe that every young person who would like to work should be given the opportunity to do so, so we support unemployed young people experiencing multiple disadvantages and barriers in order for them to secure sustainable employment in an industry they care about. 

Our specialised Back Your Future programme provides a space for young people aged 16-30 to build their confidence, self-esteem and skills in order to find long-term jobs and financial independence. Our unique programme combines frequent CV workshops, employability skills training and networking opportunities, as well as confidence building exercises and mental health and well-being workshops.  

Most of the young people we work with can’t get a job through lack of experience. But they can’t get experience because they can’t get a job. Currently, 46% of the young people who come to us lack any work experience at all. To overcome this, all trainees on our programme do shifts on the shop floor of our social enterprise, Circle Collective, providing them with much needed, structured work experience.