How Do We Redesign Early Careers When the Ladder is Broken?
In this episode of Work is Weird Now, Dan and Alice sit down with Suze Cook — founder of Ruby Magpie, Fledgling Work, and the Careers with Suze platform — to dig into one of the most pressing questions facing the world of work right now: what happens to a generation of talented young people when the traditional career ladder simply doesn't work anymore?
The System is Broken on Both Sides
The conversation opens with a blunt assessment from Suze: it's not just the ladder that's broken, it's the whole system. On one side, brilliant graduates are emerging from years of education — often laden with debt — and finding they can't get a foot in the door. On the other, small and medium-sized businesses are desperate for help but can't justify the cost of a full hire at a time when employer costs have never been higher. Suze's argument is that these two problems are actually one opportunity, if you know how to connect them.
What is Fledgling Work?
Think of it like Fiverr, but instead of outsourcing to someone overseas, you're briefing an ambitious young person in the UK. Fledgling Work matches early career talent — students, graduates, and people who haven't followed traditional education routes — with businesses who need project-based support. Projects are typically a month long, remote, outcome-based, and paid on delivery. Businesses get digitally savvy support without the risk of a permanent hire. Fledglings get real work, real outcomes, and something genuinely useful to put on their CV.
For businesses who want to go further, Fledgling Work also runs internship and graduate programmes — but with a twist. Candidates are assessed on task-based activities rather than their CVs, removing the advantage that comes from knowing the right people.
Why Social Mobility is at the Heart of It
Suze is candid about where her passion for this comes from. Growing up in a working class family in Sunderland, she was the first in her family to go to university, and was lucky enough to land in London with a friend's sofa to sleep on and a job market that was willing to give her a chance. That world no longer exists in the same way — and the statistics make the scale of the problem hard to ignore. Only 16% of internships are ever advertised publicly. The other 84% are filled through personal networks. If your family doesn't have those connections, the ladder isn't just hard to climb. It isn't even visible.
Building a CV Without the Traditional Routes
One of the most compelling ideas in this episode is the notion that young people can now build a genuinely impressive body of work outside of the traditional employment system. Three fledgling projects means three outcomes, three results, three stories to tell in an interview — something far more valuable than a CV full of internships where the main responsibility was making tea. Alice draws a parallel to her own approach: write the case study you want to be able to tell at the end, and then work towards it. For young people navigating an increasingly difficult job market, that reframe could be everything.
The Skills Gap Nobody's Talking About
When Dan asks about skills gaps in this generation, Suze's answer is unexpected: it's not technical skills they're missing, it's the basics of self-sufficiency. How do you write an invoice? What are payment terms? How do you register as a freelancer? Universities, she argues, have lagged badly behind on this. Fledgling Work is actively building out resources to fill that gap — because if you can hustle, you'll always find a way through.
What's Next for Fledgling Work
The platform currently has around a thousand fledglings on its books from across the country, and the pipeline of hungry early career talent is not the problem. The challenge now is awareness on the business side — helping small and medium companies understand that a fledgling isn't a risk, it's an asset, particularly when it comes to navigating the ever-expanding world of AI tools. Young people, Suze points out, don't need to be taught to use new technology. They just pick it up. For time-poor business owners trying to figure out which AI tools are worth their attention, that's a significant advantage.
Find Suze on Instagram at @careerswithsuze or reach her directly at suze@fledgling.work
