We're delighted to partner with the Open University on sponsorship of this category.
The Open University’s (OU) annual Business Barometer report reveals only 7% of organisations have specific initiatives for recruitment, retention, or training to support career changers. With 62% of employers reporting a skills shortage, enabling career changers is crucial to addressing the UK's workforce skills gap.
.The OU, with over 55 years of experience, allows career changers to pursue their ambitions without requiring prior qualifications for most courses, benefiting over 2.3 million students. As a pioneer in supported distance learning, the OU enables individuals to balance earning and learning, particularly aiding those with disabilities—37,000 of its 199,000 students declare a disability. It also serves rural and deprived areas, with 28% of undergraduates from the 25% most deprived UK areas. The OU is a key option for armed forces personnel and veterans
Since 2017, the OU has provided higher and degree apprenticeships to learners in over 1,100 organisations, enhancing its solutions for upskilling and reskilling employees.
Joel's Story
Joel Mordi (he/him/they/them) – University of East London, Social Sciences
LGBTQ+ UGOY WINNER 2022
Joel Mordi is the founder of M.I.F Nigeria, Nigeria’s largest charity focused on achieving the United Nations sustainable development goals. He is a Young Leader advocate for Safe Passage, part of a group of people from refugee and asylum-seeking backgrounds campaigning for change. He organised Nigeria's first ever pride protest (spanning one month) and notably won the Sheila McKechnie Foundation award. He takes a varied approach to campaigning, which includes working with and amplifying the work of existing charities already doing groundwork in the UK, Nigeria and throughout the African diaspora.
