CEO/Founder


Why you are motivated to be involved and support the organisation’s mission and objectives?

Career Matters exists to improve opportunity and social mobility for all. Career Matters is made up of an incredible team and significant support across the UK and Internationally. The Advisory Board bring drive, commitment, and experience from a variety of sectors and our Ambassadors Board are passionate and dedicated to improving outcomes.  The operational team bring expertise, passion and commitment in delivering our national and bespoke projects. The team are committed to the delivery of high-quality career services through traditional career practice, complemented by our hybrid models which utilise digital technology applications to improve accessibility, inform service delivery and to fulfil the demands for the Future World of Work. Having worked in the education, skills and career development sector for over twenty years, I have been privileged to design, develop and lead a variety of workforce development programmes.  I am motivated to ensure that more opportunity to education, employment and training reach some of the most vulnerable groups in society.  Since 2016, a key focus of our work has been on care experienced people and people with lived experience of the criminal justice system.  Our work on Thrive and the Lived Experience Charter are examples of how it is possible to improve systems and the current poor outcomes facing these communities.

Role at Career Matters

Hannah Kirkbride, Founder and CEO oversees strategy and partnership development at Career Matters. Bringing over twenty years’ experience both as a career, skills and apprenticeship practitioner, delivering high quality support and as a senior leader delivering services across the UK and globally. Hannah set up Career Matters in 2016 to further research, design and develop technology solutions to support social mobility, career service delivery and to create inspirational pathways between education and employment sectors.

Headline experience

  • TEDxNHS Speaker - How the care system affects career prospects | Hannah Kirkbride | TEDxNHS - YouTube
  • Thrive Project funded by Ufi VocTech Trust
  • Lead on workforce development innovation project The Lived Experience Charter commissioned by NHS England.
  • Lived Experience Network Member – NHS England, National Health and Justice Team.
  • Policy and Reform – working with Ofsted, Department for Education, Government Departments, across the NHS and its commissioned services to improve education, employment, training and health inequalities improvements for people with care experience.
  • Established the Capita Career Advisory Service (CAS) at Capita Education Resourcing (CER) in 2013, delivering career and employability contracts to employers, schools, colleges and universities across the UK.  The success of the Career Advisory Service led to the development of the Capita Apprenticeship Service, working with clients including further education colleges, awarding bodies and national employers.
  • Head of Army in Education to lead the career service delivery across the Recruiting Partnership Project at the British Army and was responsible for strategy and implementation across 73 Army Career Centres.  Hannah led the technology design and development process to improve education engagement, including a skill-matching design to target skills engagement and attraction.
  • Personal Adviser at Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership working as an Education and Community practitioner with schools, colleges, universities, HMP, secure, Alternative Education creating partnerships and opportunities for young people and adults.