The Early Careers Foundation fast-tracks early careers with Thrive Mentoring
Learners using Thrive
Challenges addressed with Thrive
Integrations used
Creating career connections that make a lasting difference
Through purposeful mentoring and work experience, The Early Careers Foundation helps young people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds take their first steps towards their dream careers. But prior to launching Thrive, the Foundation didn’t have a dedicated platform to help them match their hundreds of mentors and mentees across different industries. The result was a complex and time-consuming process that took away from the work that truly mattered.
“Matching is always the most important part of any mentoring programme,” said Alex Hutton, Foundation Manager at The Early Careers Foundation. “Thrive’s platform makes it really easy to do that.” To make their vision a reality, the Foundation partnered with Thrive to introduce intelligent, interest-based matching and set their mentees up for success.
Smarter matching through Thrive Mentoring
Thrive refined an algorithm in collaboration with the Foundation to prioritise the qualities and goals that matter most to their mentees. “We chose Thrive Mentoring because we wanted a platform that could support us with an algorithm to match pairs based on common interests,” said Alex.
This approach helped pair mentee Jemimah Omombo, studying at Warwick University, with Krystyna Wood, a mentor and L&D Advisor from AllSaints. Their connection became one of the standout success stories of the programme. “[Jemimah and I] had a very friendly relationship from the start,” said Krystyna. “When I saw her eyes light up when we met in person, I felt like I was making a difference in someone’s life.”
Turning confidence into careers
Mentoring is the backbone of the Early Careers Foundation’s work. With Thrive’s support, that backbone has grown even stronger – creating confident, motivated young professionals who believe in their potential and go after it. “Having a mentor as a young person is one of the best decisions you can make,” said Jemimah. “They're able to build you up not just professionally, but as a person.”
With 94% of mentees progressing to university, an apprenticeship, or a meaningful first job, the results speak for themselves – but the difference goes far beyond statistics. “Thrive really knows what makes a mentoring programme impactful,” said Alex. “The platform allows us to build mentoring relationships that truly excel.”
“Thrive really knows what makes a mentoring programme impactful, and the platform itself allows us to develop meaningful mentoring relationships that can excel.”
