Three sixth form students were lucky enough to visit the offices of URBN, the group behind Free People, Anthropolgie and Urban Outfitters, located in Brick Lane.
Students visited various departments and learned about the process of buying, sustainablity and ethical fashion.

Sixth form student Michael wrote:
URBN looked more like a warehouse than an office. We got lots of free stuff and snacks before having a tour from Michael. The first place we went to was where the designers designed the clothes and logos etc. The head designer showed us a slideshow of some designs and then a woman came up and did the same, except her designs were clothes and furniture and his were logos. The people in there gave us all a free bright orange bag and then Michael took us upstairs to the next people.

The second place we went was this big room that sort of looked like a warehouse. We learned that they took old and vintage clothes and altered them a bit then resold them. We learned about the benefits of this for the environment and the importance of fair trade in fashion.

Everyone at URBN was really nice and helpful and I learned a lot. I thought it was really funny that people could bring their dog to work at the office!

ELATT are always looking for employers who would like to support our student with workplace visits & work placements. If you’d like to support our students please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Person holding leaf

Learn more about how you can get support from various resources during the pandemic:

https://www.elatt.org.uk/coronavirus-support

Find the full array of posts regarding our Health Champions here:

https://www.elatt.org.uk/health-champions

When I joined ELATT I had just left my previous job in the retail sector and was unemployed. I wanted a career change. IT was always my biggest passion and despite the experience, I did not have credentials to back it up. I contacted City & Guilds who recommended ELATT. Starting my course, I felt hopeful and knew that I was going in the right direction. 

My experience was very positive. I studied Level 1 iTQ Award for IT Users, Level 2 Award in ICT Systems and Principles and Level 2 Diploma in ICT Systems and Principles for IT Professionals plus CISCO Essentials. 
 
Our tutor Daudi Frederick-Cato, helped us in every step of the way and had an unlimited amount of patience as well as great teaching skills to help us understand the subjects and move forward at a great pace. I was planning to continue to Level 3 but, in the meantime, I applied to some companies and had two positive responses from which I had to choose. I am currently employed as a Helpdesk Advisor - Windows 10 by a world renowned American-based IT company with offices in London. My prospects definitely improved as the credentials I acquired gave me the confidence to aim higher. 

I’ve already recommended ELATT to some friends who are considering a career change. I am so glad I decided to study with ELATT and would say to anyone considering joining, what have you got to lose? It’s the best way to improve your life. You’ll meet great people who will support you every step of the way and build a foundation to progress in your career. 

Since its founding in Tower Hamlets in 1984, ELATT has supported thousands of Londoners into employment through our integrated programme of digital skills training, personal development and mentoring, working with the long-term unemployed, refugees and young people with special educational needs to help them succeed in life and work. ELATT’s fundraising and management teams work tirelessly to raise funds to ensure our courses are free for students and that our students have the help and support they need. We are well known for our whole-person approach to education, including debt and welfare support, financial advice, specialised support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and complex circumstances.  

We are delighted to announce that our latest industry partner, MarketAxess, has provided funding to cover six-months' salary of a new Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCO) who will ensure that all of our students with additional needs and education, health and care plans (ECHPs) receive the support they need. MarketAxess is an international financial technology company that operates an electronic trading platform for the institutional credit markets, and also provides market data and post-trade services. MarketAxess is headquartered in New York with offices in London, Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, São Paulo, Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Over the coming months we have a number of exciting plans to expand our programme together, and students can look forward to working with MarketAxess volunteers in workshops, work shadowing, work experience mentoring and more. 

David Wright, Head of Client and Dealer Sales, EMEA at MarketAxess commented, ‘We are delighted to announce a new partnership with ELATT through the MarketAxess Charitable Foundation.  Our mission is to work with organizations that support underserved communities, with an emphasis on youth education, diversity, equity and inclusion. ELATT’s outstanding track record of fostering learning and community integration is in absolute alignment with our values.  We are looking forward to working with ELATT over coming years and being a part of the important work they do for Londoners.’  

Anthony Harmer, ELATT Chief Executive said, ‘It is an honour for ELATT to become one of the first beneficiaries of MarketAxess’ new charitable foundation. We are incredibly grateful to receive this funding to ensure no-one is left behind and continue our mission of providing Londoners with the skills they need to flourish in life and work. We’re now looking forward to working alongside MarketAxess to ensure our curriculum suits market needs and collaborating to provide more work experience opportunities for ELATT students.’ 

ELATT are proud to have been selected as a Contact Point for Public Health Information by Hackney Giving. This means we have a recognised status as a trusted information source within the local Hackney Community.  

May is our staff Public Health Community Champion, after taking it upon herself to undertake training with Volunteer Centre Hackney, she was the perfect volunteer to run the Contact Point Project. May has been with ELATT since 2011, initially starting as an ESOL courses TA before becoming an ESOL tutor in 2014. 

You may have already met May or one of the City and Hackney Public Health Community Champion Volunteers, as they have been joining lessons online to run workshops about Coronavirus, restrictions and vaccinations. Feedback from these workshops have been excellent, with many students feeling less anxious and reporting a greater understanding of the situation after discussing their concerns. If you haven’t met May or any of the four trained Public Health Community Champion student volunteers, you might meet them soon, as we have more workshops planned.  

Spaces are available for more volunteers and students to become Public Health Community Champions. You will receive full training and attend regular update meetings about local health concerns. 

If you would like to become a Public Health Community Champion, or have any questions, concerns or ideas about this project, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

My name is Rasa and I'm a Student Support Advisor and Business Recruitment Officer at ELATT. However, I actually began my ELATT journey as a student. Before coming to ELATT, I was unemployed and looking for work. I had never used a computer before, which was a huge setback for me. I popped into the Kingsland Road centre and the staff helped me understand my options and what would be best for me to study.

I studied IT for the Office from beginners to L2. My tutors were Ivo and Rita. Rita was extremely patient with all of us as we had many questions and most of the time asked to explain the task more than 2 times, it's not that we could not do it, but just making sure that we doing it right. Tutor reassurance helped us a lot.

It sounds funny now but, I was afraid to use the internet just in case I pressed the wrong button and all my personal data would be taken from my account! Even the word Google in big letters on my screen made me feel uneasy!

After completing the course I volunteered with ELATT for some time and then applied for a part time job as a Receptionist/Administrator. I have now been working for ELATT since 2007.

My job title has changed as I progressed within the company. At the moment my main job is supporting students getting on to ELATT courses - I work as a Student Support Adviser/Business Recruitment Officer. My experience from coming as a student to now helping students means I can really understand how it feels when you’re just starting out.

ELATT is one of the best places that I have studied and worked at. The staff and learners are amazing. It is wonderful to see people getting one step closer to their dream job or the dream career. I would like to keep working for ELATT as well as progressing within my job.

I would encourage anyone that needs computer skills come and study here. The staff are passionate about helping you reach your full potential and progress further. It does not matter if you feel that you tried somewhere else but did not succeed - just take one step at the time and say I can do it; I will try and do my best. All of us have to face our fears at one time or other, so please don’t give up on yourself. We are here for you, so make your efforts count.

We are now recruiting for September 2021. Take the next step in your career and join one of our free courses today.

On 14th July 2021 over 200 ELATT students, staff, funders and volunteers joined the annual Student Celebration event focussed this year on ‘Reaching your goals’, held online for the second year. The event kicked off with the highlights from each department, including many students moving on to volunteering, paid work or further education and almost 150 devices provided to students to bridge the digital divide, including 90 laptops, 23 tablets, 23 smartphones and 10 Wi-Fi boxes. 

Next, attendees broke into groups to discuss their goals and where they hope in be in 5 years' time. After reflecting on this, Lena Kay, international transformation coach, shared her story from being a child refugee from Kurdistan, growing up in London, excelling in management before having a breakdown and reaching rock bottom. She transformed her life and got off medication and benefits, now living in the USA and empowering others. To get a feel of the talk and her tips, you can find her Tedx Talk here. 

Following Lena’s inspiring talk, attendees were treated to the premiere of a film showcasing Sixth Form’s recent Community Action Anti-Homelessness Project, produced by Odd Eyes Theatre. The video can be viewed on Youtube and you can read more on the Learning Community blog. 

Staff, students and volunteers commented on the inspiring talk from Lena, practical tips they will implement going forward and on the hard work and dedication of the Community Action project. We wish everybody a lovely summer break and look forward to returning in September! 

We are so proud to share that ELATT Sixth Form students recently partnered with Highway House a church and homeless shelter in Tottenham, North London to help improve conditions for rough sleepers in London. Highway House has a number of local homeless people who often sleep in their church hall. When the pandemic struck, no-one was allowed to sleep in the church hall due to social distancing rules. Thankfully, many were relocated in hotels during the pandemic, however some people were not found by outreach teams and some became homeless during the pandemic and could not access shelters for accommodation due to their closures so were faced with sleeping rough in terrible conditions.

In our Social and Personal Development sessions, our tutor asked our students how they would like to support the homeless. Their solution was to buy ten 'iglous', ordered from France, which could be set up in the church hall in the Highway House grounds or nearby, so that the homeless would now be able to sleep in the warm and dry without breaking social distancing rules. The students distributed these in March 2021 and also took part in befriending sessions with the homeless.

In the photo we see Emil who slept in Tottenham Green by Highway House. He said that he is happy with his Iglou and that it keeps him very warm.

Volunteering has been ongoing as part of the students Community Action Project. The volunteering involves; helping serve food and refreshment, sorting clothes, helping with cleaning and setting up the day centre and helping with the distribution and maintenance of the Iglous.

Throughout the project, our students have been working with Odd Eyes Theatre learning about camera skills and documentary making to produce a film which shows community action in action. It documents their understanding of homelessness and how their work with Highway House has given them an appreciation of the challenges faced by the homeless. The documentary also aims to raise awareness about homelessness amongst the ELATT community and encourage them to get involved in community action.

Summai, one of our students said “Helping out at Highway House has been a really good experience and I can understand more about homelessness and how it affects people's lives. I have learnt and used my skills to help out at this charity during our project at highway house I was really excited to get involved when we discussed it in class and I really wanted to get involved as it is something I am have very passionate about and I like helping people.”

Imtiaz, English and Personal and Social Development tutor at ELATT, said “Our students have been wonderful in how they jumped at the chance to volunteer with Highway House. They have really enjoyed it and learned a lot from their experience. As result of this, they would like to take part in further activities that would help the homeless.

Abigail from Highway House said “When ELATT reached out to us with the idea to purchase iglous for rough sleepers who have not been able to access statutory help, we thought it was great idea! We were very glad to partner with ELATT in making a difference in the circumstances that the pandemic has created, mainly the closures of open plan shelters. A number of people sleeping rough benefit from sleeping in the iglous. An extraordinary story... we had 6 international students who suffered from a fire in their property, leaving them homeless for 3 days! They used the iglous during that time outside of the shelter and they were very grateful for the provision.”

Volunteers from URBN, the group behind global consumer brands including Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People and more, kindly gave us their time to provide almost 50 students including those from Sixth Form and Adult Vocational classes with Industry Insight workshops.

The workshops included ‘A day in the life of a Buyers Admin Assistant’ and ‘Differences between print and digital graphic design trends’. The half hour long workshops offered students a unique insight into how to get into a career in the fashion and media world and the latest industry intel. The students particularly enjoyed seeing how their course work transfers into real life scenarios.

We’re looking forward to the next round of workshops with URBN volunteers, which include ‘An Intro to Digital Marketing’ and ‘Sustainability in Fashion’.

After participating in the workshops, 85% of students said they felt more confident, with excellent feedback and comments from students including, "this workshop really helped me feel more at ease and less daunting when I do decide to pursue a career in Business and Administration”

If you’re an employer who’d like to collaborate with ELATT, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or if you’re an individual who’d like to volunteer to support our students, click here