We set up our annual awards back in 2019 to celebrate the impact and acknowledge the effort our partners and mentors have made during the year in offering invaluable support, and fulfilling and sustainable employment to care-experienced young people across London.
For our 4th Partner Appreciation event, it was a tough decision when it came to deciding on a single winner.
So, we didn’t.
#PartnerAppreciation
When employers join Drive Forward as partners, they not only join a passionate community committed to supporting care-experienced young people into sustainable work but gain access to exclusive networking & learning opportunities, like our Partner Breakfasts.
See how our final Partner Breakfast of the year went!
For many young people – and in fact many of us – the prospect of dressing up smartly and stepping into a room with professionals, is uncomfortable at best and anxiety inducing at worst.
Eager to help young people take the edge off networking, our partners at BIE Executive designed an innovative and unique event. Network & Nourish aims at demystifying the world of networking and exposing the person behind the job title, they brought a variety of business leaders, high-level professionals, and young people together.
For International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 2022, we want to share our own Anti-Racism principles here at Drive Forward.
These principles apply towards staff and care-experienced young people alike. Care-experienced young people have enough to deal with without adding racism to the list.
Read on to find out what our care-experienced young people want employers to know about racial discrimination in the work place.
For Care Day 2022 the theme is “It takes a Village to Raise a Child,” and through our bespoke work placements, apprenticeships and mentoring opportunities, we wanted to showcase the wonderful talent of our care-experienced young people and how they flourish when they are in a supportive environment. Our partners and supporters are vital members of our village because they provide so many opportunities, offer their expertise and create a wider network of support for our care-experienced young people’s careers.
Read on to see how Kennington Film Studios approached us to create one such opportunity.
Shanelle gives us an insight into working at Wunderman Thompson – a global marketing agency that specialises in growing brands creatively, during her time there as a Strategy Intern!
Work experience not only allows the young people Drive Forward are supporting the chance to unlock their potential and explore their future careers but companies realise there’s a lot to gain by having enthusiastic talent on their side!
In January 2020, Superdrug became an official partner of Drive Forward, and provided placement opportunities in key roles across head office and pharmacy.
2019 saw the start of this rewarding partnership. We kicked off by attending a couple of ‘Interview Prep & Pizza’ events with members of Superdrug’s Access All Areas social mobility network, which was a fantastic introduction to the initiative.
Apprenticeships can be a fantastic alternative to university for young people who have left care; offering the chance to enter work and gain qualifications at the same time. Apprenticeships are also a great fit for those who are practically minded and learn best on the job!
As I sit at home and look at my laptop at a time, I was supposed to be hosting a big in-person event with lots of hugs, good food and drink, dedicated to our partners, I’m greeted with 40 different smiling faces that represents the work we have done over the past 3 years. It represents the support provided and the dedication to the remarkable partners we work with. This year has been tough, but together we all got through it and I feel so proud to work with everyone.
No matter whether you work for the private, the public, or the third sector, the pandemic has forced all of us to get creative in order to achieve our goals, and for some of us, to simply survive. For Drive Forward it meant finding realistic, affordable, and effective ways to keep the young people we support as well our corporate partners engaged. Lucky for us, our partners have been at the forefront of showing passion and commitment, and driving innovation.
In 2019 Drive Forward forged a partnership with Distilled. Having recently merged with Brainlabs, their recruitment team decided to start over and do things differently.
We’re here to make a difference in the lives of young care leavers. Wherever they’re coming from, we’re on a mission to help open doors and give them the skills, confidence and inspiration to make some momentum and realise their full potential.
