From Self-doubt to Self-belief: A Mock Assessment Centre at Haberdashers’ Hatcham College

19 Aug 2026

More than 50 young women at Haberdashers’ Hatcham College explored assessment centre activities, personal branding, and the strengths they already possess through a partnership with Axis, CareerConnect, and the Central London Careers Hub.

Assessment centres are designed to help employers see how candidates think, communicate, and work with others. For students who have never experienced one, however, the process can feel mysterious, and that uncertainty can amplify nerves.

At Haberdashers’ Hatcham College, the Future Skills Questionnaire helped the careers team identify a group of Year 12 students who lacked confidence in describing their skills and did not know what to expect from an assessment centre. The school and Jake Jackson from the Central London Careers Hub used that insight to design a practical response.

On 1 July 2026, more than 50 female learners took part in a mock assessment centre delivered with volunteers from Axis and CareerConnect. The aim was not simply to rehearse recruitment exercises. It was to help students recognise their own abilities, reduce anxiety around an unfamiliar process, and build sustainable connections between the school and employers.

Making the Unfamiliar Feel Manageable

The session combined a mock interview workshop with a personal branding activity. Students worked through realistic tasks, reflected on how they responded, and received insight from professionals who understood the recruitment process.

The mock interview element gave learners a safer place to practise. They could consider how to structure an answer, draw on examples from school and wider life, and respond when they needed a moment to think. By encountering the format before it carried real consequences, students could replace some of the uncertainty with a clearer sense of what would happen and how they might prepare.

Personal branding offered a different lens. Rather than asking learners to perform a polished professional identity, the activity encouraged them to think about what they value, the impression they want to make, and the evidence they can use to describe their strengths.

Printed images and creative materials also helped make that reflection more tangible. Students selected and discussed ideas that represented them, then considered how those ideas could be expressed in an interview, application, or professional conversation

Recognising Skills That Were Already There

One of the clearest themes from the day was that several students initially struggled to identify their creative abilities. Yet the activities gave them opportunities to demonstrate communication, analysis, and adaptability,  all of which are skills that matter in apprenticeships and employment.

The shift was not about giving students a list of impressive words to memorise. It was about helping them recognise evidence of these skills in their own experiences. A group discussion could demonstrate listening and collaboration. Responding to an unexpected question could show adaptability. Explaining the reasoning behind a choice could reveal analytical thinking.

As learners began to identify those examples, they also had more material with which to answer the questions employers often ask: What are you good at? How do you work with other people? Tell us about a time you solved a problem.

Students then participated in a personal branding workshop, which helped connect those strengths to a coherent sense of identity. This was especially important for Year 12 learners, who are at the stage of beginning to make decisions about university, apprenticeships and work but may still feel they have little to offer.

A Partnership with a Future

The activity was developed by Haberdashers’ Hatcham College and the Central London Careers Hub, with delivery support from Axis and CareerConnect. It brought together the school’s understanding of its learners with employers’ knowledge of recruitment and professional life.

The intention is to continue building the relationship. As the cohort moves into Year 13, the employer's plan to support further activities, including a careers fair and speed-networking sessions. This continuation gives students another chance to practise professional conversations and allows the partnership to respond as their next-step decisions become more immediate.

Rebecca Cashmore from Haberdashers’ Hatcham College said the students had “really enjoyed and benefited from the sessions” and that she looked forward to working with the partners again.

Learning from Delivery

The team also identified practical improvements for future sessions. A pre-visit to the school and an opportunity for facilitators to meet learners in advance could make the content even more closely tailored. More time, and a reliable back-up method for evaluation, would help capture participant feedback before students move on to their next commitment.

Those lessons reflect the purpose of a mock assessment centre itself: practise, reflect, and improve.

For schools, the case study demonstrates the value of using learner insight to focus employer engagement where it can make the greatest difference. For employers, it shows how recruitment expertise can be translated into a supportive learning experience. And for students, it offers a vital message before high-stakes applications begin: the skills employers value may already be present. The first step is learning how to recognise and communicate them.