We first met Brianna, 19 from Southwark, on our Pathways to Professional Careers programme while she was at school and unsure what her next steps would be. On our programme, she discovered a passion for social value after an eye-opening interaction with a social value manager who talked her through what a career in the field looks like, including working on sustainability and delivering positive change for communities.

With a clear goal in mind, Brianna’s CYT coach supported her in applying for apprenticeships and she successfully landed a social value position with a prestigious built environment employer.

Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, this opportunity fell through. Despite this set back, Brianna was determined to pursue her newfound passion and continued to work with one of our employment coaches to help her get back on track.

Brianna’s coach helped rebuild her confidence through mock interviews, CV masterclasses and application support. Crucially, she was connected to another social value opportunity which became available with one of our employer partners, and was invited along to interview. The employers were so impressed with her confidence and enthusiasm for the role, they offered her the apprenticeship within 24 hours!

Brianna was overjoyed with the outcome and is looking forward to starting. We are delighted to have been part of her journey and wish her a successful and rewarding career ahead.

Building Opportunities is an intensive coaching programme for disadvantaged young people who are unemployed or at-risk of falling out of the system. Our programme targets the very hardest-to-reach young people in our hub areas and encourages them to take positive next steps towards rewarding work suited to their individual abilities and interests.