About us
ThinkForward is a charity that supports young people in the UK through long-term coaching. We equip young people with the skills and experience they need to move into work or further education after they finish school.
Everything we do is centred around ensuring young people have the autonomy and confidence they need to be successful so that they have control over their own lives and futures. Our coaches are embedded in schools or the local community and provide one-to-one and group coaching to the young people on our programmes.
Young people develop the skills they need, are supported to overcome the barriers they face and take part in employability activities to broaden their horizons and receive experience of the workplace.
Our programmes
The FutureMe programme works with young people who face challenges on their path to success to get them ready for the world of work in London, Kent & Nottingham.
Our Work Forward programme provides coaching and employability activities for NEET 16-24 year olds in London, Kent & Nottingham.
We have just come of the end of delivering our Making Strides programme, which worked with young people from London who have mild to moderate learning disabilities and/or autism with the aim of supporting them into sustainable paid employment.
Our Future Leaders programme works with Black students in London who have been excluded or are at risk of being excluded from mainstream school.
The need for our work
The transition from school to the ‘real world’ is not always easy. Young people benefit from insight into the working world and knowing what options are available to them. Many young people face a variety of challenges, often overlapping, that can make it more difficult to navigate the transition from education to employment.
In the UK, 957,000 young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), representing 12.8% of 16-24 year-olds.1 Young people receiving free school meals are twice as likely to be NEET.2 ThinkForward programmes are unique in that they intervene early and take a long-term approach to supporting young people.
“I wouldn’t change anything about my time with ThinkForward because it’s made me who I am today. Joining the programme opened my eyes and made me aware of my capabilities. It’s probably the best decision I’ve made because ThinkForward helped me more than I could ever imagine and now I feel ready for the next stage of my life.”
– Yasin, Alumni, London