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!
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 homelessness or poor mental health are much higher. Despite youth unemployment rates having reduced, there is still an estimated 40% of young care-experienced people who are not in employment, education, or training.
Together with our partners, we are trying to change that by providing ring-fenced employment opportunities to enable these young people to move from care into a career of their own choice.
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care report stated 5 missions. 1 of which was that “no young person should leave care without at least two loving relationships by 2027.”
Read how at Drive Forward, we focus on holistic care of our care-experienced young people offering everything from employment support, early intervention, and professional mentoring to counselling.
Between our staff, partners, mentors and supporters, we have always ensured stable and loving relationships surround our young people to enable them to thrive.
The Civil Service Care Leaver Internship Scheme provides ring-fenced 12-month paid employment opportunities for care leavers aged 18-30 across the country. With no formal qualifications required, the scheme is a prime example of potential-based recruitment.
This extraordinary initiative has achieved great success with a simple model based around support.
Read more on the Civil Service and be inspired to create your own ring-fenced opportunity with the help of our team!
2021 marks the 40th anniversary of the world-famous London Marathon and for the first time in Drive Forward’s history there will be a participant bearing our logo!
Andy Hearne, who works with our partners at The Crown Estate, has taken up the challenge of running the 26.219 miles around the River Thames on 3 October this year. Wanting to find out more about Andy’s motivations, his training, and why he believes that supporting care-experienced young people into fulfilling careers, we’ve asked him some questions.
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.
Partnerships with employers have always been a core part of the Drive Forward model, enabling us to provide opportunities to young adults leaving the care system which, without the usual support networks, they would otherwise not have access to. At the beginning of lockdown, as our partners postponed work placements, business prospects retreated and we heard countless reports of the impact on youth unemployment, we worried about what the future of these partnerships might hold.
2019 has been a transformational year for our charity. We’ve gone from 12 members of staff to 18; introduced two Early Intervention Programmes; as well as a new Advocacy and Wellbeing service; all of which will see us work with up to 500 care-experienced young people this year. To share our excitement, we invited referral …
Drive Forward Service Showcase – we’re more holistic than ever! Read More »
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.
