2025 Autumn Newsletter

2025 Autumn Newsletter

A note from our CEO:

We would like to share our Autumn 2025 highlights with you, as we near the end of the year and reflect on the beginning of the academic year.

It has been a busy start to the new academic year. We have continued to deliver our coaching and employability activities to young people across our three programmes: FutureMe, Making Strides and Future Leaders. Young people have enjoyed insights into a variety of industries, including construction, finance, and theatre and performing arts.

We have also continued to keep youth voice at the heart of all we do – commencing our Youth Justice co-production project, supporting our Youth Advisory Board and creating opportunities for our alumni network. You can read more about these projects below.

This newsletter includes:

> Programme Delivery

> Volunteering

Programme Delivery:

Our core programmes:

This term, young people on our FutureMe, Making Strides and Future Leaders programmes have all received one-to-one coaching and insights into the world of work. We have continued to support young people who are most at risk of being unemployed when they leave school or college to develop the confidence, independence and skills they need to secure employment.

“The experiences I’ve had with ThinkForward where I’ve gone on trips and spoken with other students and professionals has helped me be far more independent and confident. It’s like I know how to go about getting what I want now.”
– FutureMe Student, London

ThinkForward in Action:

We enjoyed hosting a ThinkForward in Action event at our partner school, City of London Academy Islington (COLAI), which gave funders and business partners an opportunity to hear directly from young people about the impact of our FutureMe programme. The young people who attended also benefited from networking with our funders and supporters and hearing their career journeys and advice.

We would like to thank COLAI for hosting the event and all of the incredible young people who shared their stories. We are also grateful to Proskauer for sponsoring this event.

We are looking forward to hosting ThinkForward in Action events in Nottingham and Kent in the Spring and Summer term.

“I’ve enjoyed the ThinkForward in Action. I’ve learnt you can change if you’re not the best when younger, you can still end up in a good job.”
– FutureMe Student, London

Youth Justice project:

This term, we began our Youth Justice project in partnership with the Youth Custody Service. We are facilitating co-production workshops with young people in a Young Offender Institution, to help us understand the barriers they face when leaving these institutions and entering into Employment, Education or Training. We will use these insights to design a programme shaped by the experiences of young people. We are grateful to The Worshipful Company of Weavers and The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust for funding this work.

Youth participation:

This term, the 2024/25 Youth Advisory Board (YAB) launched their project: Young Voices, Big Respect – a resource designed to advise adults how to interact and communicate with young people. The YAB invited ThinkForward staff and trustees to a meeting where they presented their project. The resource is featured in our Asset-Based guide, which is shared with our business partners and funders and can be viewed here.

We also hosted our first Alumni Connect event, where previous programme participants came together with their ThinkForward coaches to network and catch up on their journeys since graduating from the programme. At the event, we launched our new Next Steps grant initiative, which will support entrepreneurial alumni members who want to start their own business. We look forward to updating you further on this initiative over the coming year.

Volunteering:

Become a mentor

As mentioned above, we are launching a grant programme for our alumni who are in the early stages of starting up their own business or innovative project.

We would like to offer our alumni 3-4 sessions of business mentoring to support them to develop their business plan and report on how they use their grant. We are looking for volunteer mentors who have experience in entrepreneurship and/or business management to take part in these sessions.
We are planning to run the business mentoring sessions in January, March and April. The sessions will be delivered online between 4pm and 6pm.

To register your interest, please sign up here.

Volunteer of the Year Award

We would like to say a huge congratulations to our volunteer, Stephen Pevsner, who won the London Youth Volunteer of the Year Award.

We nominated Stephen for the award for his commitment to supporting our FutureMe programme. Over the last 8 years, Stephen has supported our partnership with Proskauer, personally mentoring young people on our programmes and advocating for wider team engagement and critical financial support.

Stephen’s mentee said:
“Having Stephen as my mentor was one of the littest times of my life. He changed the way I see myself and my future. I never imagined someone like him, a whole partner in a law firm, would make time for someone like me. I can’t lie I’ve had a tough journey, but Stephen didn’t judge me, he just listened.

He helped me see that where I come from doesn’t have to decide where I end up. We worked on real things like preparing for interview questions, doing my CV, how to present myself and stop swearing so much. He helped me build my confidence and my communication and I won’t ever forget that. He showed me that I actually matter and that I need to start acting like it.”

Thank you London Youth for recognising Stephen and all the other incredible youth work that is taking place across London.

2025 Summer Newsletter

2025 Summer Newsletter

A note from our CEO:

As this academic year comes to an end, we would like to update you on some highlights from the summer term and the 2024/25 academic year.  

As always, our priority has been delivering high quality coaching programmes to young people who need our support the most.

This academic year we were delighted to launch our first ever research reports, outlining evidence from our work with young adults with learning disabilities and young Black people who are at risk of exclusion. These reports are part of our strategic goal to share our expertise and evidence to encourage wider change. If you missed them, you can read them here.

Although the school year is coming to an end, our work isn’t over as we will be supporting young people over the summer holidays through UK Youth’s Summer Jobs programme. The programme offers the invaluable opportunity of paid work placements to young people, supporting them to develop their work readiness and gain experience to add to their CVs, whilst earning a wage.

Programme Delivery:

Our FutureMe Programme:

Supporting young people who face barriers to employment

This term, Year 10 students on our FutureMe programme took part in our business mentoring programme, where they benefit from visiting one of our business partners and being mentored by a professional. During the sessions they develop their first CVs and practise mock interviews, whilst building their confidence entering professional settings.

“The best thing about having a mentor is having someone to talk to that’s understanding and has experience of work. They’ve gone through more stuff than me so can give me advice on what to do.”
– Daisy, FutureMe student

Our Making Strides Programme:

Supporting young people with learning disabilities and autism

In March we were delighted to launch our research report: ‘Addressing employment inequity for young people with learning disabilities and autism through coaching.’

This term, young people on our Making Strides programme have been receiving one-to-one coaching, going on work experience placements and some students have taken part in our Extended Recruitment Programme with DHL.

We are currently accepting referrals for our Making Strides programme for young adults in London to start the programme in September 2025. Young adults are eligible if they are:
  • 16-24 years old
  • have a mild to moderate learning disability
  • have been NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) for 10 months or will be NEET at their next point of transition
  • have an aspiration for paid work
  • have the ability to travel to attend support sessions in Islington.

To refer a young person who you think would benefit from our support, please click here.

Our Future Leaders programme:

Supporting Black young people and South Asian young women at risk of excusion

In November 2024 we launched our research report, outlining findings from Phase One of the programme. You can read it here.

This term we were delighted to deliver our business mentoring programme to all 251 young people on the programme. Young people met with Black and South Asian professionals to hear advice, career guidance and their lived experiences navigating the world of work.

“My mentor was an amazing lady. She talked to me in a kind way and gave me advice, she opened my eyes that there are people that can help me. Today has broadened my thoughts. The mentors aren’t telling you what you need to do, they are trying to find a way for you to realise it yourself and then they top it up to give you ways to do it and what you should do to stay on the right track.” 
– Tyreik, Future Leaders student

Expanding our work to the youth justice sector:

We are excited to be adapting our expertise to support even more underserved young people. We are pleased to announce we are working with the Youth Custody Service to plan co-production with young people in a Young Offender Institution, to help us understand the barriers they face when leaving these institutions and entering into Employment, Education or Training, and design a programme shaped by the experiences of young people. The project will also involve us collaborating with multiple stakeholders working across Youth Custody Services, Youth Offending Teams and education. We are grateful to The Worshipful Company of Weavers and The Fishmongers’ Company’s Charitable Trust for funding this work. We look forward to sharing more updates with you about this exciting new project in the near future.

Youth Participation:

London Youth Gold Quality Mark

In April, we were delighted to be awarded the London Youth Gold Quality Mark. This award recognises our commitment to involving young people in decision-making and celebrates the quality of our youth work provision. London Youth has over 500 members and ThinkForward are one of 9 members to have achieved this award, demonstrating our dedication to youth participation.

Youth Advisory Board

Our Youth Advisory Board (YAB) members have had a very productive year. Their main project has been designing a resource about co-production with adults. This term, YAB members also had the opportunity to contribute to a thinktank inquiry that will be presented to the government.

Amin, YAB member, said the best part was “having the space to talk about the things we need to talk about and knowing we can have an impact on the future for people like us.”

Fundraising:

Big Give Campaign

We are thrilled to have achieved our Big Give Champions for Children Campaign target of £40,000. These funds are vital for us to continue our work supporting young people who are most in need of extra support to help them transition into employment. A huge thank you on behalf of everyone at ThinkForward to everyone who generously donated or shared our campaign with your networks – we really appreciate your support. We would also like to say a huge thank you to our trustee Keith Macdonald, who recently completed an 8-day trek in the Swedish Artic Circle and raised over £6,000 for ThinkForward.

2024 Autumn Newsletter

2024 Autumn Newsletter

A note from our CEO:

I’m excited to present this term’s highlights as we near the end of the year and reflect on our achievements from the beginning of the academic year. 

It has been a busy start to the new academic year. We have continued to deliver our coaching and employability activities to young people across our three programmes described below. Young people have told us they have enjoyed insights into a variety of sectors, including construction, luxury fashion, finance, hospitality and law.  

This term we were delighted to launch our first ever research report, outlining the findings of the evaluation of Phase One of our Future Leaders programme. We also hosted a webinar to discuss the findings and our recommendations. You can read more about this below. 

Programme Delivery:

Our FutureMe Programme:

Supporting young people who face barriers to employment

We currently deliver our FutureMe programme in 16 schools in London, Nottingham and Kent. Our coaches support young people who face barriers to employment, to help them develop the confidence, independence and skills they need to successfully transition from school to work.

We have also been delivering extra support to young women on our FutureMe programme in London, through our She Speaks project. Hear about the impact the project has had already by watching this video.

Our Making Strides Programme:

Supporting young people with learning disabilities and autism

Our Making Strides programme provides coaching and workplace insights for young adults with learning disabilities and/or autism in London and Birmingham.

We are currently looking for employers to attend our Reverse Jobs Fairs in London (February 2025) and Birmingham (March 2025). Our Reverse Jobs Fair is an inclusive job creation initiative. It redefines traditional job-seeking for young adults with learning disabilities and/or autism, encouraging them to showcase their skills and aspirations in a supportive and engaging environment.

About Reverse Jobs Fairs:

  • Empowering Preparation: Young people receive tailored support to craft CVs, build LinkedIn profiles, and prepare elevator pitches. Presentation boards display their achievements and aspirations, giving them confidence to engage with employers.
  • Collaborative Employer Engagement: Pre-event sessions equip employers with inclusive recruitment strategies, fostering an atmosphere of understanding and collaboration and breaking the traditional cycle of more passive interaction.
  • Inclusive Format: Held at an accessible youth hub/space, the event uses a carousel approach, ensuring every employer connects with every participant.

If you are an employer in London or Birmingham with live vacancies, and you are interested in attending our Reverse Jobs Fair to meet our jobseekers, please email us here.

Our Future Leaders programme:

Supporting Black young people and South Asian young women at risk of excusion

In September we began delivery of Phase Two of our Future Leaders programme. Phase Two supports young Black students and South Asian young women in Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham. Young people will experience one-to-one coaching, peer mentoring, and employability activities, as well as business mentoring from Black and South Asian professionals.

In November we launched our research report, outlining findings from Phase One of the programme. We also hosted a webinar with a panel of experts in the race equity and exclusion fields who discussed the findings. You can watch it here.

Finally, if you would like to hear more about the impact of Phase One, you can hear directly from young people who participated in the programme, by watching this video.

Fundraising:

Big Give Campaign

We are thrilled to have surpassed our ambitious Big Give Campaign target of £100,000, raising a total of £122,605. This is an increase on the £60,000 we raised during the Big Give last year, and we are extremely grateful for all the extra support. These funds are vital for us to continue our work supporting young people who are most in need of extra support to help them transition into employment. A huge thank you on behalf of everyone at ThinkForward to everyone who generously donated or shared our campaign with your networks – we really appreciate your support.