The Women's Work Lab

What The Women's Work Lab does

The Women's Work Lab is a UK Community Interest Company (C.I.C., company number 11860694) limited by guarantee without share capital, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Bristol, England. It supports unemployed mothers aged 19+ in the South West of England — Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, Bath, and South Gloucestershire — to return to meaningful employment through a 12-week programme that combines bespoke classroom training, paid work placements with regional businesses, and one-to-one career coaching and mentoring. The programme is delivered free of charge to participants and is tailored to women facing complex circumstances, including domestic abuse recovery, lone parenting, and caring for children with special educational needs. Beyond the core 12-week format, the organisation runs multiple Hive cohorts (six in 2024-25, achieving a 90% WECA achievement rate) and a Specialist School Programme, in partnership with the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and regional businesses.

The organisation has no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is human-centred, with referral pipelines run through local authorities, Jobcentre Plus, and community organisations. Revenue is generated through public-sector grant funding and combined-authority commissioning rather than commercial fees, making The Women's Work Lab a grant-funded social enterprise rather than a venture-scalable business. Reported outcomes include a 93% programme completion rate, 87% of mums gaining employment within six months of graduating, and 61% of 2023 graduates in work at the point of the 2024-25 impact report. The organisation received a UK Government Cabinet Office Points of Light Award and is governed by co-founders Rachel Mostyn and Camilla Rigby alongside a small board including David Jones (CEO, Changing Tunes) and Rose Ward (Head of Safeguarding, UWE), with active recruitment for two additional board members.

Name

The Women's Work Lab

Legal name

The Women's Work Lab C.I.C

Website

https://womensworklab.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Women's Work Lab is a UK Community Interest Company delivering a free 12-week employment programme combining classroom training, work placements, and career coaching for unemployed mothers aged 19+ across the South West of England (Somerset, Bristol, Bath, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire), funded by public-sector grants including the West of England Combined Authority.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Workforce Development Services

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Workforce Development, Employment Readiness & Job Placement (BPADAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Career Coaching, Mentoring & Placement Support Services (EDAAAKAO), Community College / Training Provider Workforce Pathways Programs (EDAAAOAO)

Keywords

• Employment programmes
• Career coaching
• Workforce training
• Maternity return work
• Non-profit employment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Programme Delivery: As a Community Interest Company (CIC), The Women's Work Lab operates as a non-profit organisation delivering employment support programmes. Revenue appears to be generated through funding agreements with public sector bodies, grant funding, and partnerships with local authorities and combined authorities such as WECA.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

The Women's Work Lab delivers structured 12-week employment programmes for unemployed mums, combining classroom-based skills training, work placements with partner employers in media, tech, and creative sectors, and one-to-one career coaching to support participants into meaningful employment. The programme is free to participants and funded through grants and public sector partnerships.

Product overview

The Women's Work Lab is a Community Interest Company (CIC) that operates as a single unified offering rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Their primary product is a 12-week employment programme that combines bespoke classroom training, work placements, and one-to-one career coaching and mentoring. They deliver multiple programme streams including the Hive programmes (6 x Hive programmes with WECA overall achievement of 90%) and a Specialist School programme (1 x Specialist programme). The programmes are specifically designed to help under-represented women aged 19+ who are mothers to become work ready, focusing on building confidence, ambition, and employability skills. Outcomes for participants include new careers, further training, and creation of a vital support network. According to 2024-2025 data, 93% of learners completed the programme, 56% of graduates are in employment, 12% in further training, and 87% of mums gained employment within six months of graduating.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 12-Week Employment Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• 61% of 2023 graduates are now back working
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• West of England Combined Authority (WECA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWECA is a key funding and strategic partner, providing support for the programme delivery across the West of England region. The impact report shows WECA achievement outcomes at 90% overall, with participants achieving positive results through WECA-funded programmes including Hive programmes and Specialist School programmes.
• Business Partners in South West EnglandcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerThe organisation partners with businesses in Somerset, North Somerset, Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire to offer meaningful work placements to programme participants. They support businesses to create job descriptions and work schedules for a truly meaningful experience, not just a tick-box exercise.
• Referral PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorks with referral partners including local authorities, Jobcentre Plus, and community organisations to reach unemployed mums who could benefit from the programme.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Catch22: UK social business delivering employment, education, and wellbeing programmes including targeted support for under-represented groups — comparable public-sector commissioning model and beneficiary outcomes focus.
• Ingeus: Large UK welfare-to-work provider delivering government-commissioned employment programmes including for under-represented groups — broader portfolio but overlapping employment-readiness and job-placement services funded by the same combined authorities.
• Reed in Partnership: Major UK employment services provider delivering DWP and combined-authority-commissioned programmes for unemployed adults — operates in the same commissioning environment as The Women's Work Lab with overlapping funder relationships.
• Shaw Trust: UK charity and disability employment specialist delivering government-commissioned employment programmes — comparable model of grant and contract-funded employment readiness delivery, with similar funder ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Smart Works: UK charity providing interview coaching, work clothing, and employment support for women, including mothers returning to work — directly comparable mission and beneficiary profile to The Women's Work Lab.
• The Motherhood Group: UK-based social enterprise supporting mothers through training, employment support, and community programmes — directly comparable cohort, geographic focus, and community-led delivery approach.
• Women Returners: UK consultancy and programme provider specialising in helping women return to work after career breaks — overlapping target audience (professional women returning from maternity/family leave) and coaching-led delivery model.
• Mums Enterprise Roadshow: UK organisation supporting mums into self-employment and return-to-work pathways — directly comparable cohort focus and training-plus-mentoring delivery approach.
• Working Families: UK charity supporting working parents and carers with advice, training, and employer engagement — overlapping target audience (parents balancing work and family) and employer-partnership-led model.

Regional players

• Jobcentre Plus: UK government employment service operating across the same South West geographies and serving as a primary referral partner for unemployed adults — provides the main alternative pathway for the same target cohort.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-women-s-work-lab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Women's Work Lab