Smart Works: Helping Unemployed Women into the Workplace

The charity Smart Works exists to help unemployed women get the clothing, coaching and confidence they need to gain secure employment and change the direction of their lives. The women supported by the charity are at a high risk of economic hardship and often struggle with their self-esteem in the face of barriers to employment or repeated employment rejection.

The Charity’s Impact

When it comes to positive impact, Smart Works has supported 40,000 women into employment to date, with 67% of those it has helped, securing a job within a month of their first appointment. Smart Works has 12 centres across the UK serving local communities, and 94% of the women it has assisted say they felt more confident about their livelihood and career as a result.

How It All Began

Smart Works is one of the carefully curated charities included in the Social Mobility Cause Portfolio offered by Percent for Good, which was founded by Mark Lyttleton.‍ Launched in 2013 with the opening of its first centre in Islington, Smart Works has grown to meet increasing need, with women referred to the charity from organisations including refuges, job centres, homeless shelters, the prison system and mental health charities.

In 2017 Social Action named Smart Works as its Charity of the Year, and in 2024 it was chosen as Google’s Charity of the Year.

How It Works

There are several stages of the Smart Works service, with each designed to help clients look and feel their best in a job interview. After the first stage (referral) comes two interview preparation sessions, covering dressing and coaching. During these sessions clients receive a bespoke dressing consultation (with the clothes provided offered free of charge) and interview preparation coaching.  

Once a client secures a job, Smart Works welcomes them back for a second dressing appointment where they receive a capsule wardrobe to last until they receive their first pay cheque. If a client isn’t based close to one of the organisation’s centres, they are welcome to access Smart Works’ services virtually.

Accessing Smart Works

To access Smart Works, women need to be referred from the organisation currently supporting them. To be eligible, women need to be aged 16 and over, unemployed or on a zero-hours contract, and seeking support to secure a job interview or have a confirmed job interview coming up. Once Smart Works receives a referral request, a member of its team will get in touch with the potential client for a virtual or in-person appointment.