Career Matters: Thrive
Skills and opportunity is at the heart of Thrive's design
Career Matters responded to the VocTech Specialist 2019 challenge fund around 'the changing nature of work in the 21st century workplace’.
Career Matters was invited by Ufi VocTech Trust to explore their idea using design thinking to really get to the heart of potential users' vocational learning needs and look at a variety options for learning design and technology platforms.
The service provided is a hybrid model of coaching and digital support for care leavers. It has the potential to provide practical support for practitioners whilst reducing costs, increasing impact through targeted support and accuracy for delivery of resources.
Career Matters has collaborated with employers to create an accessible way to provide work placements, internships, apprenticeships and diversity and inclusion initiatives. Overwhelming support has been received to date from employers who have contributed to design, consultation, and collaboration to support in raising awareness around the need for this initiative.
Co-production with care experienced individuals has underpinned the project research, design and evaluation process and will continue through the Ambassadors Board and peer support networks.
Hannah Kirkbride, CEO of Career Matters said:
The dedicated team have been working behind the scenes to design, develop and test our new technology platform.
Thrive, built with the needs of care leavers and care experienced adults gaining skills and opportunity at the heart of its design. Our hope is that it will provide a further layer of support for those with experience of care and enable them to access diverse career opportunities, network with employers, gain work experience and skills for the Future World of Work.
Louise Rowland, Deputy CEO for Ufi VocTech Trust said:
It is more important than ever to support people to develop their vocational skills in order to ensure that we all have the skills we need for work.
At Ufi, we believe that digital technology has the power to open up access to training and development and break down barriers to learning. So we are delighted to support Career Matters who are blending the very best of digital support and coaching to help care leavers and care experienced adults to gain skills.