Care-experienced young people are one of the most vulnerable and overlooked groups in our society. Research has shown that educational attainment, levels of health and well-being and employment prospects are all significantly lower, whilst instances of
or poor mental health are much higher. Despite youth unemployment rates having reduced, there is still an
of young care-experienced people who are not in employment, education, or training.
This is why work placements run by our partners are key. These opportunities help upskill our care-experienced young people so they can be ready to tackle the world of work with confidence. Wunderman Thompson have been “wunderful” partners and have been running several one-month paid placements with us.
In the latest round of work placements, Wunderman Thompson offered positions across their business including client services, data, creative, technology, operations teams and many more. Plenty for our young people to get stuck in! As a result, our young people have been able to explore different roles and find out which are best suited to their interests and aspirations, all under expert guidance and support!
During her time with Drive Forward, Marion was paired with a dedicated Careers Advisor (CA) to help her figure out her personal career and life goals. Her CA worked closely with her, equipping her with the key skills and networks to enable her to confidently search for opportunities. Marion learned vital life skills, from being able to manage her time more efficiently, to knowing how to make herself stand out on a CV and acknowledging her own strengths and weaknesses.
“I enjoyed the flexible calendar, which allowed me to jump between tasks and get a taste of different projects, such as social listening, competitor social media audits, data collection, survey creation and client pitches. By being so involved in projects, I got to play around with data tools such as Netbase, YouGov, Quid and Cmix to develop my analytical skills in different ways for a range of clients.
“My skills, time management and general organisation have definitely improved as well as my ability to work well in a team. More specifically, I was able to work with different software and platforms including Excel. I also gained insight into a number of other departments such as post production, broadcasting, and attended creative agency showcases! There were lots of support and guidance given to me and I was always encouraged to ask questions.
Since the internship, Marion has left with personal projects to work on such as to continue learning Python and also to expand her knowledge of Structural Query Language alongside her university studies. For Shab, her time with Wunderman Thompson solidified her career path and is now determined to become a producer. Shab is currently employed full-time at Wonderhood Studios!
*some details have been changed to protect privacy.
Drive Forward has been set up to enable care-experienced young people in
London to achieve their full potential through sustainable and fulfilling employment. Since 2010, we’ve worked with over 100 businesses and employers, and supported over close to
3,000 young people into meaningful careers. One of the key aspects of our success is
working with employment partners, committed to creating
supportive, valuable and meaningful
opportunities for our young people.
Join Lloyds Bank, Superdrug
, Baringa Partners, and American Express to
share your expertise, resources and passion for change
.
Partner
with us
and
create work
placement
s and jobs
that
benefit
you and our care-experienced young people.
