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We’re thrilled to reveal that we and our partners Verizon Business won not just one, but two awards at The Better Society Awards 2024! The event, held a few days ago, saw leading businesses from across the UK come together at the London Marriot Hotel in Grosvenor Square for a stunning night of celebration, where leaders from across all sectors were recognised for their contributions and positive impact on society and improving the lives of others.
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Through our combined work via the Unloc Changemaker Alliance, we were thrilled to pick up two awards, joining winners from major industry leaders including British Airways, Deloitte, Santander, MacMillan, The National Youth Advocacy Service, Octopus Energy, Vodafone, the NSPCC and Omaze (to name but a few).
The first award is for the National Commitment to Skills & Training Award, something we at Unloc are hugely proud of as we roll out our skills focused programmes, workshops and bootcamps across the UK.
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The second award is the Philanthropy Award category, given to celebrate individuals and organisations who advance innovation, new solutions, and demonstrate meaningful progress in a community, association, or other nonprofit organisation.
Talent and opportunity in the UK is often mis-aligned, with young people growing up in the most challenging socio-economic communities facing life expectancies up-to 6 years below the national average and lifetime income earning potential up-to 40% below the national benchmark (such as Portsmouth). Our joint skills and training programmes are helping to redress this imbalance.
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This uniquely collaborative approach between a global corporate, and our own non-for-profit skills and training organisation has:
- Catalysed more than 250 employment opportunities for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds including apprenticeships, early career opportunities and internships
- Supported more than 100,000 young people inside and outside of education settings to participate in skills and training experiences that make them more ambitious, employable and prepared for the world of work
- Developed partnerships with Verizon’s clients including the British luxury brand Burberry to promote STEM careers to 1,266 girls in London’s most challenging boroughs
- Supported 150 young people to participate in internship and early career opportunities at Verizon itself
- Jointly built a cross-sector alliance of businesses (called the Changemaker Alliance, that cumulatively employs 212,000 people) to contribute financial resources and employee expertise to Unloc and Verizon’s programmes for young people across the nation, including £512,000 of funding and over 1500 industry mentorship and guest speaker experiences
- Invested £125,000 directly in grants and year-long mentorship experiences, utilising Verizon employee expertise to 35 young entrepreneurs through our the Young Entrepreneurs Challenge, enabling young people to start innovative businesses that solve problems and drive economic prosperity
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Unloc’s Managing Director Hayden Taylor said:
“We are over the moon that alongside our partners Verizon we’ve been recognised with two National Awards for our work supporting young people from disadvantaged communities to become changemakers and achieve their potential. Our teams, alongside countless volunteers, put huge amounts of hard work and energy to bring to life our unique and innovative programmes in schools, colleges and communities across the country – this award recognises all they do.”
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Xavier White, Verizon Businesses Head of EMEA Social Purpose & Senior ABM Lead said:
“These wins are a recognition of the amazing partnership between Verizon Business and Unloc. Together we’ve worked to create opportunities for young people, championing sustainability, inclusion and diversity, STEM access, and skills training, all of these leading to wider career options for the next generation. I’m grateful that this award has been able to shine a spotlight on the impact that businesses can have upon the community, especially when they work with organisations who have an intimate understanding of said community. Unloc are experts in empowering young people from all backgrounds – when big business and non-for-profit join forces, the impact can be vast!”
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The outcomes described above are the combined results of the six bespoke and innovative programmes in entrepreneurship, leadership, career pathways and amplifying student voices, which are curated and delivered by Unloc’s expert youth-focused facilitation team, working in close collaboration with Verizon employee mentors, guest speakers and industry experts. These are:
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Changemaker Challenge Enterprise Days
These day-long events take place in schools across the country with a particular focus on the most deprived communities, reaching more than 10,000 young people every year. They inspire young people to explore what it means to be a changemaker, including widening their career horizons and putting their entrepreneurial skills to the test through a series of social business challenges.
Each event brings together between 30 and 100 primary or secondary school students to learn about the life and career journeys of local entrepreneurs, Verizon employees and participate in entrepreneurial skill building workshops. Each day culminates in a ‘changemaker challenge’, whereby a team of young people work together to identify and develop an entrepreneurial solution to a real-life social, environmental or economic issue.
Unloc Academies
Our 3-month long Leadership and Enterprise academies develop the skills of more than 1000 passionate young people annually, supporting them to successfully tackle a solution to an issue they or their peers have faced in their schools, colleges or communities. For those participating in the Leadership Academy, Unloc provides practical instruction in project planning, facilitation and effective communication, as well as building personal confidence and leadership. Enterprise Academy students gain skills in business planning, market testing, setting up a business, financial management and more from entrepreneurs and Verizon employees and volunteers.
I AM:
I AM is a new kind of social change incubator putting 100 young people annually at the heart of tackling issues around equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), whilst developing their life-long employability. For 6 months, young people from across Portsmouth and London come together over 4 immersive weekends of training and collaboration to learn about EDI and apply what they have learn to create and implement social change projects, with the support of community leaders, local professionals, specialist consultants, and democratically-elected representatives Following participation, 100% of young people say they feel more inspired to do something different or take action in the future, and 92% say they want to take part in similar programmes.
EDI Changemaker Days
Running alongside I AM, EDI Changemaker Days take place in 5 schools in disadvantaged communities and deliver an immersive day-long experience on EDI and racial justice for 1000 young people each year. With the help of the Unloc team and Verizon mentors, students build their own in-school campaigns to tackle a problem or address a challenge that impacts their lives.
The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge
The Young Entrepreneurs Challenge is an annual event that identifies and encourages young entrepreneurial talent. Now in its 5th year, the challenge provides the opportunity for any young person aged 16-25 with an innovative technology-led, business idea to apply for a grant of £10,000, plus mentorship, training and specialist pro-bono expertise, to help them translate their idea into a successful social enterprise or business. To date, 35 young people have been supported, with their ventures in turn employing more than 250 people.
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