2016 winner: O2, Cause Related - case study

High levels of youth unemployment and barriers to accessing the job market threatened to hold back the UK economy and digital transformation. Young people were not easily able to transfer their knowledge into applicable skills.

O2 partnered with Bauer Media with the shared vision of creating a digital platform which could offer advice, inspiration and insight into careers and the world of work, but also access to opportunities and experiences.

The plan
Using O2's digital know-how and Bauer’s content expertise, and the strength of their brand, they created a free platform that facilitates collaboration between businesses to support young people, build an amazing talent pipeline for O2 and businesses across the UK, and support economic recovery. GoThinkBig was born.

Having provided inspiration and advice, O2 also needed to provide opportunities to enter the workplace. GoThinkBig’s dedicated Partner Manager supports the 45 employers plugged into the site, helping them develop opportunities aligning with their business needs.

The results
GoThinkBig has offered £13.6million earned income opportunities and 3million hours of work experience in 2014/2015, and offered over 31,000 work experience and skills opportunities, 12,700 with O2, since launch in October 2012.

The real measure of success was whether O2 had helped improve access to the job market and inspired young people to take their first steps on the career ladder. Since launch 983,518 young people have gained skills through engaging with GoThinkBig, by accessing the site’s advice, securing a work experience opportunity or listening to one of our expert panels.

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