In just four weeks, graduates and early-career starters gain real-world skills, confidence, and credibility to stand out and launch versatile, high-impact careers across industries.
For many UK graduates and career starters, the toughest part isn’t achieving academic qualifications; it’s securing their first professional role in a hyper-competitive job market.
Employers receive an average of 140 applications per graduate-level vacancy, with some sectors like finance and IT seeing up to 188 applicants per role. Shockingly, only around 2% of candidates are shortlisted.
The financial and emotional cost of securing a job is high: graduates spend an average of £58 on clothing for interviews and £52 on travel, and many hear nothing back on 60–70% of applications. The result is frustration and low morale, with talented young professionals questioning their worth despite strong academic achievements.
Given this climate, many young people never consider a career in project leadership, often unaware that it offers a pathway to enjoyable, versatile work that spans industries and equips them with highly transferable skills.
Project leadership and project management roles are no longer just jobs; they are gateways to high-impact careers across sectors. From construction to healthcare, retail to technology, professionals at every level are launching products, building systems, and managing teams: developers pilot software and build MVPs, administrators roll out curricula, retail managers deliver seasonal campaigns, site supervisors coordinate construction teams and schedules, charity workers run volunteer programmes and awareness campaigns, and local government officers deliver community initiatives or infrastructure upgrades. These are real-world, transferable skills – yet they are rarely taught explicitly.
Against this backdrop, Rob Anderson, the founder of Leadership Launchpad, announces Your Launch Year, a CPD-certified, practice-led online course designed to fast-track young professionals into project-based roles. Participants gain hands-on experience with real-world projects while developing essential skills in communication, ownership, and resilience, alongside guidance on presenting themselves effectively in interviews. The programme equips them to thrive in competitive work environments from day one.
Rob, who developed the course with experts from the teaching profession, has over 15 years of experience successfully leading major projects across sectors, including serving as a project leader for national initiatives such as the Olympic Legacy Programme, the Grenfell Tower recovery and EU Exit readiness programme. He is an Institute of Leadership Level 7 qualified professional, a Prince2 project manager, and a Managing Successful Programmes (MSP®) practitioner.
He explains his commitment to helping graduates and career starters realise their potential:
“Your Launch Year isn’t just about getting a first job, it’s a launchpad into a career that can open doors across almost any industry. In just four weeks, we give graduates and career starters the skills, confidence, and credibility to step into project leadership roles, stand out to employers, and begin building meaningful, future-proof careers.”
November enrolment is now open: Project Leadership – Your Launch Year