Join the Circle · Working professional

Your experience is worth far more than your job title

You put your professional skills into practice every day. At the Lab, that experience helps others, reaches beyond your organisation and continues to grow. Here is what membership offers you.

Free membership until 31 December 2026

Are you a practising professional who would like to contribute through the Circle? Membership of the association is free until the end of 2026.

Join the Circle →

01

Make a difference

Use your experience to contribute to something bigger than yourself and help people starting out today find their way.

02

Connect with your peers

Meet people in your profession who work in other sectors and settings. Together, your voices carry further and the needs of your profession can finally be heard.

03

Keep developing

Assessing training, comparing perspectives and sharing your experience keep your own skills sharp and help you see where your profession is heading.

Meet our members

Why I joined the Circle.

the problem we are solving

Too many courses are disconnected from workplace realities.

This is not a question of good intentions, but of how closely training reflects the way work actually gets done. With AI and new tools, that gap is widening quickly. Bringing training and the workplace back together will not come from educators: it must come from practising professionals themselves.

Your role is clear: to say whether what is taught matches what the job really requires. Not “this is poorly explained”, but “this does not reflect what we see in practice”.

Before you commit

Questions you may have

Assess a course against the realities of your work, take part in a study or run a workshop. Each task sets out what is expected, how much time it will take and the deadline from the outset.

You only take on tasks you have agreed to. You can decline a task or step back from one without having to give a reason. Nothing is ever assigned to you automatically. Everything happens remotely, at your own pace.

Not for a one-off contribution. However, becoming a professional contributor requires membership, because the role involves upholding our methodology and the Lab’s commitments to its partners. You are not paying for the right to help: you are taking on a role that safeguards the value of what we produce together.

No. Someone from the Lab will support you from your very first task, and you can contact your peers in the Circle at any time.

Recognition as a professional contributor, a circle of peers in your profession and skills that stay with you. The exchange needs to work both ways to be worth your time.

Share your experience

Share your experience through career conversations

People changing careers or starting out need to speak to those who know the job first-hand. Which skills really matter for success? Which should they develop first? No one is better placed to answer than someone doing the work today.

Share your day-to-day work, career path and advice with people looking for work, facing barriers to employment, exploring a new career direction or changing careers. Career Conversations with the Circle last 60 minutes, including a presentation and Q&A. They are free for participants and led by professional contributors who are members of the association and choose to take part.

You prepare each session in your own way, for a time slot agreed with the Lab. You also become a more confident speaker, developing your public speaking, facilitation and ability to get an idea across: skills that stay with you well beyond the Lab

What you bring

  • At least five years of hands-on experience, and you are still working in your profession.
  • A practitioner’s judgement: does this course match what the job really requires?
  • Insight into changes in your profession before training programmes catch up.
  • The opportunity to run workshops for young people and career changers, if you wish.

What you gain

  • A Subject-Matter Expert badge to display on your profile.
  • Recognition for your hands-on experience beyond your organisation.
  • A circle of selected peers from other professions.
  • Access to the member area and all the Lab’s work.
  • Stronger public speaking, facilitation and presentation skills.

Join the Circle in 2026

Membership for professional contributors is free until 31 December 2026.

Membership for 2027 will open in January. Renewal terms will be shared before you join for the new year.

Join the Circle →