Why it matters

For graduates and apprentices in their first years at work.

Most new joiners arrive with the technical basics. What’s harder is the personal side of work: knowing your strengths, coping with pressure, speaking up, staying curious and decoding the unwritten rules. With hybrid working and AI changing how people learn the job, those skills are needed more than ever.

Catalyst Early Careers builds them deliberately, over twelve weeks, using the same structure as the Catalyst Emerging Leaders Programme.

The challenges new joiners face

The move from education into work is a big leap, and many new joiners are left to work it out alone. In 2025, 54% of employers said their graduate recruits fell short of expectations on self-awareness, up from 35% in 2023.

Source: Institute of Student Employers, Student Development Survey 2025.

High expectations to perform from day one

Imposter feelings, fear of mistakes and overworking

Less informal learning and feedback in a hybrid world

Judgement expected sooner as AI reshapes routine tasks

Decoding the unwritten rules of the workplace

Finding the confidence to speak up and be heard

The 12 modules

Twelve weekly modules in three themes, each building on the last. Every workshop blends lived insight, research and practical tools you can use straight away.

Building solid foundations

Making the leap from education to work with self-awareness and confidence.

1. From education to work – how organisations operate, what managers expect and owning your own work

2. Knowing yourself – values, strengths, working style and how you come across to others

3. Mindset: confidence and belonging – reframing limiting beliefs, building a growth mindset and rewiring habits

4. Energy, resilience and performance – managing energy and focus, healthy boundaries and bouncing back from setbacks

Working with others

Building the relationships, communication and feedback habits that help you thrive.

5. Asking for and using feedback – seeking and receiving feedback well, finding mentors and turning it into growth

6. Communicating with confidence – speaking up in meetings, clear and concise updates and simple storytelling

7. Managing up and building networks – working with your manager, understanding stakeholders and building relationships

8. Being a great team member – contributing to trust, disagreeing well and working with colleagues of all ages

Growing your impact

Getting things done, thinking clearly and taking ownership of your career.

9. Getting things done – prioritising and planning your workload, and saying no without damaging relationships

10. Thinking critically in an AI world – asking good questions, sense-checking AI output and using sound judgement

11. Navigating change and uncertainty – the human side of change, adapting quickly and staying grounded

12. Owning your career – linking values to purpose, career conversations and development plans

How it runs

Across twelve weeks, participants take part in weekly 90-minute workshops blending lived insight, research and practical tools for real-world use. Alongside the workshops, each participant joins four small-group reflection sessions to embed the learning and has four one-to-one coaching sessions, from before the programme starts to after it ends.

That’s around 30 hours in total, over three months, in cohorts of 10–12, online or on site, with dates that fit your intake. Course length can be flexed to meet client requirements.

Catalyst Early Careers builds on the Catalyst Emerging Leaders pilot, where participants rated the modules between 8.9 and 9.6 out of 10.