Project Thrive is developing guided support for lived experience communities via a new vocational skills platform, which offers personalised layers of support for learners. Thrive connects young people in care, care leavers, people with lived experience of criminal justice to employers to improve vocational outcomes and opportunities.
The interactive platform provides insights into vocational occupations, skill sectors, online learning, career coaching and work experience to help learners make informed choices. Digital learning and hybrid coaching support will help to identify those who require deeper levels of support and gather information on what works best to shape future service design. The Discovery Phase was a real adventure for the project, starting from first principles with a mountain of evidence that those who have been looked after in the care sector and/or criminal justice sector have, longer-term, relatively poor career and life chances.
The team are passionate about making a difference and levelling the playing field so that all people entering work or seeking progression can have the same chances. The challenge was to find a starting point that was practical, deliverable and had strong industry support. The discovery phase reaffirmed that intervening early with mentoring and using VocTech solutions to improve confidence and opening up real pathways into work has the potential to transform life chances.