We are thrilled to announce our latest acquisition, Bridge of Hope Careers, as a new addition to the nGAGE Talent family. Bridge of Hope Careers is a pioneering business with a steadfast commitment to inclusive hiring. Their mission is to empower marginalised individuals, including returning mothers, older workers, ex-offenders, and others facing disadvantages, by connecting them with meaningful employment opportunities.

Bridge of Hope achieves this through a dual-pronged approach: an innovative job board and a consultancy service that supports a diverse range of clients, including blue-chip end users, recruitment agencies, and RPOs. By leveraging their unique expertise, they bridge the gap between employers and overlooked talent, creating opportunities that lead to positive change.

The exceptional team behind Bridge of Hope has already demonstrated remarkable success, boasting a roster of 58 blue-chip inclusive employers who have embraced their enhanced social value proposition. To propel the business to even greater heights, nGAGE Talent has made a strategic investment in Bridge of Hope, becoming majority owners. This infusion of capital will be instrumental in driving candidate acquisition, technological advancements, and the effective marketing of Bridge of Hope's services.

This strategic investment will not only empower our employer partners to access comprehensive inclusive hiring solutions but also foster stronger relationships with referring partners. Additionally, it will enhance the experience and services we provide to our valued candidates, ensuring they receive the highest level of support.

Tim Cook, CEO of nGAGE Talent, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "Our investment in Bridge of Hope is a testament to our shared dedication to Social Value. Together, we aim to catalyse tangible change in the Recruitment and Talent landscape, offering genuine solutions to our clients."
Michael Corrigan, CEO of Bridge of Hope, echoed this sentiment, saying, "We are privileged to have attracted the investment and support of nGAGE Talent. The depth of experience, the reach of the management team, and the network of brands within the Group present an outstanding opportunity to expand our client base. Our commitment to activating Social Value remains unwavering, delivering Social Impact with Commercial Precision."

We are excited to embark on this journey with Bridge of Hope and are committed to supporting their mission to scale in the UK and beyond. Together, we will continue to champion Inclusive Hiring and drive systemic Social Value.

For further insights into nGAGE Talent, visit nGAGE Talent.

​Disability Pride Month was originally formed as a result of “The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)” which was passed on July 26, 1990, to prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities. Following this legislation, Boston held the first Disability Pride Day event in July 1990 and Disability Pride Month was born.

From there, the first Disability Pride Day Parade was held in Chicago in 2004 and now globally there is a greater awareness, understanding and reach of what it means to embrace disabilities.

Why is Disability Pride Month Important?

Disability Pride Month aims to raise awareness, acceptance and celebrate each person’s uniqueness and seeing it as a natural and beautiful part of human diversity. Disabilities can be an integral part of individual’s lives and by being collectively open and aware we can contribute to a greater level of understanding, support and change that is needed across all disabilities.

The Disability Flag

The Disability Pride flag was created by Ann Magill, a disabled woman, with each coloured element representing a different disability.

• Black represents the disabled people who have lost their lives due not only to their condition, but also to negligence, suicide, and eugenics
• Red represents physical disabilities
• Yellow represents cognitive and intellectual disabilities
• White represents invisible and undiagnosed disabilities
• Blue represents mental illness
• Green represents sensory perception disabilities

Recently, the Disability Pride Flag has been redesigned based on feedback that the original lightning bolt design created a strobe effect and posed a risk for people with epilepsy and migraine sufferers.

Let’s look closer at some of the disabilities represented above...

Physical Disability

Esther Mary Vergeer is a retired Dutch wheelchair tennis player. Combining singles and doubles, she has won 48 Grand Slam tournaments, 23 year-end championships and 7 Paralympics titles. Vergeer was the world number one wheelchair tennis player from 1999 until her retirement in February 2013. In singles matches, she was undefeated since January 2003 and ended her career on a winning streak of 470 matches. She has often been mentioned as the most dominant player in professional sports.

Your journey to disability pride can start with a simple commitment to believing in the worth of your strengths.

Invisible & Mental Disability

When thinking about disability, the first thing that comes to mind for many is physical disabilities. If we can’t see something, we tend to not realise it’s there. Equally, someone may intentionally choose to disguise their mental disability, which can lead them to being mistreated. People with mental disabilities may feel ashamed of their differences due to the social norms set out in society, where historically disabilities were deemed as abnormal. Being judged in this way, or the thought of being so, can leave many to suffer in silence, because acknowledging their individuality may lead them to being treated unfairly and/or unequally.

The world as we know today was heavily influenced by Albert Einstein who was both autistic and dyslexic. Autism affects the brain and the way someone thinks, socialises both verbal and non-verbal communication. Dyslexia affects the way one reads comprehension due to structural abnormalities. However, it is not to say, that progress has not been made over the years to ensure that those with disabilities are getting treated and cared for properly, with the same respect as everyone else.

People with disabilities are still people, still have feelings, still have a brain to use by themselves.

Disability in the Workplace

Disability is a 'protected characteristic', as a result employees do not have to tell their employers or potential employers that they have a disability. However, if they do decide to inform their employers about their disability, the employer has a legal responsibility to support them. Employers should help create an environment and recruitment process where people feel safe and comfortable to talk about disabilities.

When working with a disability your employer might have to make adjustments to help you do your job the same as they would do for someone without a disability. The Equality Act 2010 calls these ‘reasonable adjustments’. These can be changes to policies, working practices or physical layouts, or providing extra equipment or support.

If your employer doesn’t make the adjustments they have a duty to make, it could be discrimination. You might be able to complain or take them to an employment tribunal to get what you need.

Let there be Pride in Disability

• Remember you can use your pride to not be afraid to ask for help and ask what you need. Being proud of your differences does not mean you are showing weakness by asking for help. In fact, asking for help takes courage and strength of character.
• Don’t be afraid to acknowledge your disability as one of your greatest strengths in job interviews or when looking to join a community group or integrate into community life. Let decision-makers and employers know that having a disability has allowed you to learn skills and you bring a unique world view to the position.
• Use your disability as a gateway to network and meet new people. Being proud means you are not afraid to use your disability as an icebreaker, to start a conversation, or to introduce yourself in order to build important connections in your community or make new friends. Acknowledging your disability first can help others embrace it, too!

Find a job with our inclusive employers at Bridge of Hope Careers

We provide thousands of jobs every day with inclusive employers who understand and commit to the mission of making all recruitment, inclusive recruitment. Where equality, diversity and inclusion and protecting the nine characteristics is priority and not only is it so, but many employers also recognise, embrace and celebrate the uniqueness that each person can and will bring.

Find your next job at www.bridgeofhope.careers/job-search

There is more to the world than seeing everything in black and white, sometimes, we forget to notice the shades of grey.

To me, diversity is equality, different individuals being able to come together despite ‘differences’ that society may deem to be taboo.

How boring would life be, if everything we saw was the same, same personality, same characteristics, same looks? Without embracing individuality, we are losing out on the colours of the world. Flowers bloom in different shapes and colours and need varied things to survive and flourish. Do we ever doubt that a cactus is not a flower, just because it doesn’t look/behave like a daffodil? Do these flowers stop being plants just because the roots are different?

As humans we have different norms that we abide by: beliefs, sexualities, cultures etc. If we took this away, we would no longer hold our individuality. We would never ask a daffodil to stop being a daffodil and stop watering it, hoping it would become a cactus, because we know that it would die. So why should we try and shape someone’s individuality just because we don’t understand or follow their beliefs and lifestyle?

​Being different should never inflict shame and discrimination on an individual or stop them from experiencing diversity.​

Refugee week covers 20th June to the 26th June. Refugees have been forced out of their countries (their homes) in order to escape from something: war, persecution or natural disasters. We have all heard the stories about what is happening in North Korea. The general population of the country has been stripped down to a bare canvas. There are no bright colours left to see. Take everyone away from the hostility and they are now liberated, the shackles have been removed and they can start living a happy life being free, and embracing everything life has to offer in full colour. In their world, there was no diversity, everything was just black and white. Being different should never inflict shame and discrimination on an individual or stop them from experiencing diversity.

If you are or know any asylum-seekers check out Risethey support and empower refugees and asylum-seekers.

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The dissociation that comes from trauma is common but does not mean the impact it had will not travel with them for the rest of their lives.
A story from a young woman who has lived in a refugee camp in Holland. At the young age of five, she was taken from her home, ripped away from her father, the closest family she had ever known, to move far away to a country she had never been before with her Aunty. At this young age, she learned the hard truth about trust issues. During the seven years that she spent at the refugee camps in Holland, she was moved across the country on multiple occasions, learning that she couldn’t make friends, not knowing how long they would be in her camp, or how long she would be in that camp. Not only did she lose her home, father and a good childhood, she had her innocence taken from her in ways that are to cruel to imagine.

Recalling traumatizing moments in life, one sometimes forgets that the story they are telling in fact is their own.

Last month, we all celebrated and understood the importance of mental health. We all collaborated as a unit and rose awareness on how to help those in need. Then the big question arises: Why do men need a health week? Over hundreds of years men have been manipulated and indoctrinated into keeping their feelings hidden, not being able to talk about any issued they have going on. Brainwashed by society that feeling sad, lonely and depressed isn’t something they should feel. Through this conditioning, it is no surprise that men have difficulty going to the doctors when they feel something is wrong, why so many men commit suicide. 40% of men have stated that unless they have thoughts of self-harm or suicide, they will not seek any help. The biggest differences as humans is our gender, we all preach diversity and acceptance, then how have we let this happen?

We at Bridge of Hope Careers have collaborated with Andy’s Man Clubto encourage men to open up and speak about their mental health. Runs talking groups for men who have either been through a storm, are currently going through a storm or have a storm brewing in life.

It’s important to recognize that although an individual might take longer or a different approach, it doesn’t always mean the outcome is less even but in fact unique.
The learning disability sector is one of the fastest growing sectors within social care. As a result from increased demand there has been an increased difficulty to access the care. Learning disability week is a great opportunity to spread awareness for the millions of children and adults with learning disabilities and celebrate what they do for our community.

From the eyes of a gentleman who grown up with both physical and learning disabilities from a young child, has been categorized as incapable and different, being dissociated from society.

“I’ve always been told that there are so many things I can’t do, it’s something I’m used to, however I haven’t always felt in my heart that I couldn’t, it’s just about beating the odds” – Simon Nolan

But in actual fact, they are unique therefore they need to be recognised, so that we can understand them. There is no justice in hiding behind rose tinted glasses and treating them the same as an ‘ordinary’ they are different. Differently beautiful! Just because an individual has a different way of thinking , something that comes from a brain of an ‘ordinary’, couldn’t understand, does not make the way of thinking wrong. There is a reason why each person is classed as a individual.

When we die, we all have the same size coffin, same size plot.

Everyone should be able to live next to one another without discrimination and prejudice. You wouldn’t start oppressing someone for being different. Being humble, and giving everyone the same opportunities is so much more important in life than stepping on other people to make yourself feel better. Check out our Support Center for more helpful links.

In this week’s blog, we are sharing our thoughts on LGBTQI+ Community and the importance of equality, human rights and being inclusive. We believe that as a collective we can contribute to the consistent progress of everyone being treated equally, nevertheless there’s a road ahead of us that we must continue to play our part in to create lasting changes.
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The most important day to date for the LGBTQI+ community is June 28th 1969 where personal rights started changing for the better. The Stonewall Riots took place in Manhattan where police raided a gay club, leading to six days of riots to follow. Just 2 years later, parades of people started protesting and rioting in Ottawa and Vancouver to fight for their rights! These riots started the ball rolling for equality as we know it today.

The pride flag was created at the end of the 1970’s by gay rights activist Gilbert Baker to be a symbol for LGBTQI+, with more flags introduced over time to symbolise individual groups within the community.

The Stonewall Riots started a catalyst for equal rights for those belonging to the LGBTQI+ community.
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We are making change, but we still have more to do.
Both England and Wales, have been making steady progress in creating equality: in 2002 same-sex couples have been able to adopt, since December 2005 civil partnerships started taking place and the biggest progression in 2014 where same sex marriage becoming legalized, 45 years after the first riots. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. However, many countries do not celebrate Pride month; we are far from our goal of reaching peace with the world.

As a Human race with cannot evolve and move forward without accepting each other’s differences and embracing them. ​

Love is pure, happy and untainted however that’s not the case for everyone where discrimination still plays a part in the lives of some LGBTQI+ lives. It’s heart-breaking that some individuals feel ‘lucky’ for the lack of discrimination and prejudice that they have experienced for loving someone compared to another individual. Imagine living life in fear, not knowing if you can go on dates, go on holiday, take a walk with your dog without having abuse hurled your way.

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Stand Together Win Together

Why should individuals get scolded for the way they feel about someone? No one should have to hide in the dark about who they are, we all preach about free speech, and freedom but where is the LGBTQI+ community’s? Where is the justice? We all need to unite and embrace each other’s differences, were not clones.

We are all just people​

Here at Bridge of Hope Careers we strive each day to ensure everyone is treated fairly and equally, regardless of age, gender, race, sexuality etc. We pride ourselves in caring about what is on the inside and being inclusive and we only work with inclusive employers who feel the same way.

Reach out and talk to us if you are looking for your next inclusive career opportunity.

Bridge of Hope Careers are delighted, thrilled, chuffed and all-round cock-of-the-walk to have been Highly Commended for Social Mobility Initiative of the Year by the inaugural British Diversity Awards.

The awards promote the values of equality, diversity and inclusion by rewarding those individuals, organisations and unsung heroes who help to make the world and the workplace a better place for others. They're sponsored by Burberry and supported by leading businesses including GSK and Veolia.

We were grateful to be nominated by our friends at Ruebik, another organisation dedicated to creating new opportunities for untapped talent. They recognised our dedication to levelling the playing field for candidates who often find themselves overlooked because something about their identity or history - including economic disadvantage and long-term unemployment - is getting in the way.

Last night's ceremony was held at London's Grand Connaught Rooms and hosted by TV Presenter and diversity champion June Sarpong OBE. Bridge of Hope Careers Co-founder James Fellowes attended, accompanied by Partner Support Manager Chance Bleu-Mongomery (see picture, top) and they found themselves amid starry company.

Little Mix singer Leigh-Anne Pinnock was there for her campaigning work against racism, receiving the Media Champion award for her documentary 'Race, Pop and Power' . Westlife's Mark Feehily collected the Global Recognition Award for his vocal campaigning for surrogacy rights for LGBT+ families. And Sky Sports presenter and former England defender, Jamie Carragher, won an award for his work with a number of social mobility charities, including Football For Change. Other big-name winners on the night included Boots, NatWest, ITV and Scope.

In our category, we were up against stiff competition from the likes of KPMG, News UK and the NHS's Birmingham Fairness taskforce among others. In the end, we were just pipped to the post by worthy winners Browne Jacobson, who are working hard to promote equality of recruitment and progression in the legal industry.

British Diversity Awards founder, Linda Riley (pictured above speaking at the ceremony) said: “I'd like to congratulate all of the deserving winners at this year's Burberry British Diversity Awards.

“The awards shine a light on the individuals, organisations, charities and unsung heroes who help to make the world and workplaces a better place for others across all strands of diversity. In a world where hate and division are being sown in some quarters, we believe that by continuing to celebrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we can help make the UK and indeed the universe a better place to live and work for everyone.”

The award ceremony came in the same week that we launched a new and improved version of our website on a revised tech platform that will allow us to serve the needs of both our candidates and our progressive employer clients more effectively. So it's been quite a week!

Bridge of Hope co-founder James Fellowes said "It was a remarkable and inspiring evening, and a room packed full of extraordinary nominees doing great things, so we were honoured to be shortlisted and beyond excited to have been highly commended.

"This couldn't have happened without the amazing work of the Bridge of Hope team at Prosper4, and I want to thank them and all of our wider mission and employer partners who are making this work possible. We must also thank Christina Brooks at Ruebik for generously nominating us for this, our first award. As we keep working to make all recruitment inclusive, we hope it will be the first of many!"

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Picture courtesy of the British Diversity Awards

​International Women's Day has been celebrated around the world since the early 1900s. It was created to bring attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against women. Now it is a globally celebrated event used to raise awareness and celebrate women all around the world.

Working with us at Prosper4 and Resume Foundation, we are proud to have as part of our team these inspiring young women who wanted to share with you what being a woman means to them.

Idil

Being a woman to me means power, strength and courage. Women like Fatima Al-Fihri are a big inspiration to me, she established the concept of university as we know it today and founded the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque and University (world’s first university) in AD859.

Her idea for an educational hub that provided opportunities for advanced learning spread throughout the world. Women today have incredible examples of women to look up to throughout history who have provided the blueprint on how to improve the world and bring new perspectives.

Today we celebrate them and every woman from every walk of life.

Anna

International women's day is a day to honour women around the world for the contributions we make to society. Like many things, without women, International Women's Day would not even exist!

On this day I acknowledge that this present moment in time is the best time to be a woman, and I am so grateful for the women who suffered for us to get to this point. However, I can also recognize that we still have a long way to go to achieve gender equality globally.

Being a woman means being inspired by other women each and every day. Every time we choose to celebrate and support another woman in our life, we are actively stepping away from our internalised misogyny that has been ingrained in us by society. Some people's argument for why women shouldn’t have the same rights as men is that we think and feel differently. But I would argue that having a diverse society and workplace filled with people with different mindsets and backgrounds working together can lead to greater things than before. I feel privileged to be a woman and will be celebrating that on the 8th March 2022 and every other day!

Isatu
Women are superheroes!

I mean who bleeds every month, some for a few days and some for even longer than a week, and survives that? Talk less of the cramps some of us even endure in those few days. Can you imagine carrying a whole other human in your stomach for nine whole months, physically swelling up like a balloon and then going through childbirth? Women are superheroes!

The love and care women are capable of giving is beyond anything in this world. We are strong even on our weakest days and we are beautiful even on the days we don’t feel it. And the beautiful thing about all of this is that we don’t even have to search far for it. It's all within us!

Happy International Women’s Day, superheroes!

Beth

Being a woman is about breaking down stereotypes, showing people that what they see isn't always the complete person. Blonde, tanned, girly girl is what they first see.

In reality, I'm a badass rugby player.

Rebecca

Being a woman means standing up for the values that we hold and making sure that every woman can enjoy their own life in the way they want to. It means being a hero for change.

I think of the wonderful women before me and what amazing examples they have set for us. We are stronger than the world gives us credit for and it is important that we show this.

Casey

Being a woman to me in my past has mostly meant being too much - this is what I was always taught in my teenage years by a variety of people. Being told I was too talkative and too outgoing used to affect me and how I felt.

But being labelled as ‘too much’ doesn’t affect me now the way it used to; I am proud to be labelled talkative and outgoing. I am now unapologetically me, especially in environments where people would expect me to be quiet until I am spoken to. It means I have the freedom to make my own choices without the fear of being belittled or reprimanded for the choice I have made.

A CV - or Resume - has been the go-to tool for employers and job-seekers for 500 years. But what if you're worried that your CV can be used against you?

When you register with BRIDGEOFHOPE.CAREERS you get access to not one but two important services.

Firstly, you get to look for jobs you think might suit you and apply for them – either by manually searching our database or by setting up regular automated searches through your candidate profile. You apply for these directly with the employer, and you’ll only need a CV if the employer asks you for one.

Secondly, however, employers often approach us directly to ask us to find people for particular roles. Our clever job engine searches through every CV we have on file to find people with suitable skills, sometimes for jobs those candidates may never have thought of.
That’s why we need your CV: a word-processed document or PDF that outlines your relevant skills and experience.

What if I don’t have a CV?
CV stands for Curriculum Vitae – a Latin term that basically means “life story”. Making one can be a really useful discipline for preparing to apply for work. It leads you to reflect on the skills, qualities and experiences that might make you attractive to an employer, and to plan how to communicate these most effectively.

If you’re confident with IT and have access to software like Microsoft Office, you can use a pre-built template that gives you useful headings and formatting to design a smart CV (search for ‘Resume’ in the software templates, the term Americans use for CV, if you can’t find them).

There are also a host of online CV builders that you can use. Just type ‘CV Builder’ into your favourite search engine. These websites ask you to fill in a form with all your information, then present you with a finished design. That means uploading your personal information to the site's servers and typically paying a fee – make sure you’re comfortable with the terms and conditions before you go ahead.

If you can’t access either of these options, we also have a really simple tool to get you started. It’s a 2-page PDF document with blank spaces for your information. Provided you have Adobe’s free Acrobat Reader software for your computer or mobile device, you can download the template to any device you wish, fill the information in, save the file and upload it to your account. Your CV won’t be as attractive as some, but it will give our job engine enough information to match you up with an unexpected opportunity.

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What do I need to have in my CV?

Here are the essentials for any CV.

• Personal details: Just your name, postal address, email address and phone number. If you don’t have a full postal address, at least the name of the city or county you live in. You don’t need any information about relationship status, age, gender, nationality etc.
• An outline of the jobs you’ve held and the responsibilities and skills that went with them.
• A list of your qualifications, including school and workplace skills.
• Some information about any hobbies, interests or experiences outside of employment, including volunteering

CVs also typically include an opening statement that promotes you as a person and explains what you are looking for in a job.

My CV sucks – I don’t want to have one

People with complicated life or career histories can find CVs a bit of a minefield when they apply for jobs. They worry about having to explain career gaps or other incidents - or even worse, not even getting the chance to explain them.

But the businesses we work with have committed to inclusive employment – to seeing past life’s hiccups. They understand that complicated pasts are often accompanied by valuable lived experience and learned resilience. Also, our employers only ever see your CV if our job engine has matched your skills to something they’re actively looking for – in which case you’ve already passed the first test! So you really don’t have anything to lose.

James Fellowes and Chance Bleu-Montgomery recently appeared on Matt Alder's Recruiting Futures Podcast.

​In his interview with them, they discussed:

• Being in the business of changing lives
• Inclusive recruitment and inclusive employment
• Building a coalition of support services covering critical areas such as qualifications, finance and broader family support
• What does the talent come from
• Improving the odds both for job seekers and employers
• The huge benefits to employers
• Which employers are embracing inclusive recruiting
• Future plans

Listen now

​British Diversity Awards 2022

We are delighted and honoured to have been nominated in the 'Social Mobility Initiative of the Year' category for the inaugural British Diversity Awards.

The awards promote the values of equality, diversity and inclusion by rewarding those individuals, organisations and unsung heroes who help to make the world and the workplace a better place for others. They're sponsored by Burberry and supported by leading businesses including Boots, GSK and Veolia.

The ceremony will take place at London's Grand Connaught Rooms on March 10th, where the host will be TV Presenter and diversity champion June Sarpong OBE.

Awards founder Linda Riley, said: "These awards will shine a light on the individuals, organisations, charities and unsung heroes who help to make the world and workplaces a better place for others across all strands of diversity.

"We believe that by continuing to celebrate Equality, Diversity and Inclusion we can help make the UK a better place to live and work for everyone."

Erica Bourne, Chief People Officer, Burberry said: "Valuing different perspectives and experiences enables us to enhance our creativity and foster a sense of belonging while opening new spaces for our colleagues, customers and communities. We are delighted to be sponsoring the inaugural British Diversity Awards and supporting the chosen Charity of the Year, celebrating inspirational achievements and sharing stories that will inspire many others to be active changemakers and allies."

Chris Brown, Managing Partner, Lockton LLP, who are also supporting the British Diversity Awards, added: "Promoting the values of equality, diversity and inclusion has never been more important, and the British Diversity Awards shine a spotlight on the individuals and organisations that are driving progress. As a company that believes in nourishing and valuing diversity in all its forms, we are delighted to sponsor these awards honouring champions of diversity across the UK."

Time to brush off our tuxedos!

Why we have a passion for partnership

I'm Chance, Partnership Manager for the Bridge of Hope careers portal.

I’ve been involved in the third sector for a few years in one way or other, initially as a grateful beneficiary. But it was only when I started working with the third sector itself that I realised there was a lack of real coalition culture within the sector.
During my own journey in personal development, I gratefully enjoyed the support of several amazing charity organisations, some of whom I am honoured to be collaborating with today.

Key4Life helped me to unlock some historical pain through equine therapy. And Bounce Back supported my entrepreneurial goals and introduced me to the great team at Prosper4 Group (who run the Bridge Of Hope) and Resume Foundation (who operate Venture, a business start-up programme.)

This first-hand experience has left me with a huge amount of respect for the work individuals in this sector do. And it’s because of this support that I am encouraging the building of coalitions and partnerships in the third sector – for the betterment of the end-user. I have been that end-user, and I can feel when there is disharmony among those supporting me. It strikes me that too many organisations spend too much time competing for less and less funding. Why fight over a shrinking slice of cake when together we can increase the whole cake?

Bounce Back knew that my future wasn’t in the construction industry, which is their area of focus, so they found the right place for me to be, thanks to their willingness to embrace coalition culture. The feeling when your coalition of support is in pure harmony is like travelling without the weight of uncertainty.

The Inclusive Culture Movement

I understand that my role is more than a job; it is being a part of a movement. The drive towards a more inclusive culture has been shaken up but also empowered by cultural shifts: events like the awful pandemic, the murder of George Floyd and Brexit. In times of change, movements are born. Imagine if the third sector were in solid coalition, how the end-user would flourish? Isn’t it time to truly work together for the greater good, big or small?

Over the last few months, I have had some extraordinary meetings with some incredible organisations, and we have shared some great synergy. It’s about mindset, I think. We need to drop our instincts towards competition and protectionism; we need to put the best interests of our service users first. Not just because that’s right for them, but also because it delivers greater shared success and demonstrates the collective power and importance of the sector.

Bridge Of Hope Coalition of Skills & Support Partners

At BRIDGEOFHOPE.CAREERS, we’ve forged coalitions with a number of Skills & Support Partners, all of which provide hope and address the sources of uncertainty and anxiety that can deteriorate a candidate’s sense of self-worth.

SORT is one of my favourites in our coalition of support & skills partners. Here's what one of their candidates, Muna, says about them: "Sort is the ultimate career discovery platform! I have been exposed to job titles and career paths I hadn’t heard of and broadened my prospects. It's fun and simple to navigate - an enjoyable experience.”

This could be great for candidates who wish to discover suitable new industries for their transferable skills, such as those who were in retail pre-Covid.

With City & Guilds, referred candidates can access free training and certification for a growing range of skills (beginning with social care and construction) to support their applications. C&G now also support Digital Training, and other training partnerships are in development, too.

Springboard and Careerscope support people of all ages, backgrounds and walks of life with barriers into employment to fall in love with hospitality, leisure and tourism, as well as gain skills, knowledge and experience needed to forge a career in these amazing industries.

Hastee offers “Earnings On Demand” which will help to alleviate any added financial related anxieties. Ideal for a candidate in a new job, and out of their comfort zone.

IncomeMax will not only support candidates, they will also support the whole family. This is particularly great if your candidates are first-in-family graduates who have to take on family financial pressures, as well as others who are the sole breadwinners in a family. IncomeMax will help with finding solutions which in turn reduces the financial pressures on your candidates. Click Here For IncomeMax Support.

Imagine one individual with all that support. This is a part of a growing coalition and we have 70,000 candidates to date (07/02/22) who can access this support. This is the type of supported candidate which is available to our inclusive employers.

Chance Bleu-Montgomery is Partnership Manager for the Bridge of Hope.

Join the coalition culture movement today: [email protected]