EMPLOYABILITY SKILLS

'Kitchen Table Uni': Real Skills, Round the Table

Note from The Founder, Angela Thomas

I created INeedWork.com because I know some of the most important work skills are not picked up in lecture halls. At home, my son and I fondly called our approach 'the kitchen table': talking things through, trying things out, and building confidence without making learning feel overwhelming.

 

Kitchen Table Uni grew from that idea. It is our community offer: practical, personal learning that is grounded in real life, not wrapped in institutional jargon.

That is the spirit behind INeedWork.com. We help people spot the skills they already have, build confidence, and turn real-life experience into practical steps towards work — without jargon, judgement, or death by PowerPoint!

Designed for organisations supporting young people, job seekers, career changers, and adults re-entering the workforce, we turn confidence, lived experience, and workplace know-how into support that feels useful from the first conversation.

With more than 20 years in corporate transformation, we bring real-world insight and honest workplace knowledge — but the heart of it is simple: learning works best when people feel seen, safe, and able to ‘give it a go.’

Who We Help

We work with a mix of community organisations and employers to help work feel like something people can step into — not something hidden behind a locked door with numerous buzzwords.

For young people and early-career learners:

We make the world of work feel less like a secret club — helping them practise applications, interviews, presentations, and workplace language in a way that feels clear, useful, and human.

For adults changing direction or returning to work:

We help people reconnect with what they already know, name the skills they may have overlooked, and approach the digital job market with calm and confidence.

For organisations and groups:

We bring a flexible, tested model that starts with the people in the room. Different ages, backgrounds, confidence levels, and starting points — one shared aim: support that lands in the room, not just on a slide.

Why Partners Work With Us

Partners come to us because the sessions are real. Partners come to us because our learning sessions are grounded in real-world experience. We understand what employers look for, how workplace transformation feels, and how confidence can take a knock — because we've seen it from both sides of the table.

We keep things practical, welcoming, and light on waffle: no lectures, no textbook fog, and no pretending a quiz is engagement or interactive. We stick to clear activities, honest conversation, and support people can use.

Because every group is different, we shape sessions around the people in front of us — including different learning styles, language needs, confidence levels, and lived experiences.

Let’s Build on What You’re Already Doing

You know your people, and you know where the support is already working — or where it could land better. We bring a practical, lived, proven style of learning that can sit alongside your work and help it go deeper. If something has not quite worked before — or you know it could work better — we’d love to help you make it land.