Deadline: February 28, 2019.

Thrive: access to employment is our accelerator focused on improving employment opportunities for those distant from the labour market.

While the UK currently holds record employment levels of 75%, many people still suffer barriers into a good job. Disabled people are twice as likely to be unemployed compared to non-disabled people and poverty rates amongst households with a disabled person are over 10% higher than households without.

The social sector now employs over 1 million people: with a growing young sector, social enterprises will be key to helping the UK achieve full and good employment for all. We know that social ventures have brilliant solutions to help support people into employment and we want to help them thrive.

 

ELIGIBILITY

To apply for any Thrive programme your venture must:

• Be based and delivering impact in the UK
• Be a social purpose organisation with a commitment to delivering social impact in this area
• Have a trading and social impact track record of at least two years
• Be able to fully commit to the 6-month programme through regular meetings with your Venture Manager, online learning sessions and peer learning events.
• Have at least one member of staff working full time on the business
• Have any legal incorporated limited liability form. Companies Limited by Share will need to have clear mission lock in place or be open to including one as part of the programme.

For access to employment

You must be working to increase access to employment, through training or job opportunities, for people that face barriers to work, such as, but not limited to:

• Disabled people (including learning disabilities)
• Homeless people, or those in temporary accommodation
• Ex-offenders and people with criminal convictions
• Long-term unemployed
• People recovering from addiction
• Refugees
• Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)

 

BENEFITS

 

They know that social ventures face barriers as they look to scale. Their research tells them that the main barriers to growth are: accessing capital, establishing routes to market, finding talent, and measuring impact.

They design our support around these, and other, areas that we know are vital to enable growth. Each venture on Thrive will get 6 months’ support from a dedicated Venture Manager as we know this hands-on consultative led approach is vital for ventures as they scale. Alongside this, we provide peer-to-peer networking opportunities, high level connections, and access to appropriate finance.

1. Tailored support: You will have access to technical business assistance, connections and valuable peer-to-peer learning through UnLtd’s expertise or trusted external consultants. We work with a pool of specialist consultants to meet the needs of individual ventures.

2. Connections and pro-bono support: We provide connections to mentors, coaches and supporters that suit your venture’s needs. Our partners include strategy consultancies and PR agencies. You will also have access to Hogan Lovells legal support.

3. Access to finance: Where appropriate, we will support you prepare for investment, including the opportunity to secure repayable capital of up to £50,000 for your social venture.

 

OFFICIAL LINK

Thrive: Access to employment