Mayor announces winner of innovation challenge to help more Londoners into work

• Mayor announces £50,000 for three winners of his No Wrong Door Open Innovation Challenge to develop innovative ways to help Londoners enhance their skills and move into new or better jobs
• The winning ideas are designed to help London’s diverse communities including refugees, diverse communities, young people and women get back to work
• Five runners up will also receive £5,000 in additional funding, helping Londoners to access skills and training for green jobs, enhanced CV writing, and access to job opportunities for young Londoners

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced the three winners of his No Wrong Door Open Innovation Competition, which will help to pioneer new ways to help disabled Londoners, women, refugees, young and older Londoners access high-quality skills and employment support to better thrive in our economy. For Londoners, the No Wrong Door innovation challenge means that no matter their starting point or what service they access first, they can be connected to the right type of support at the right time to help them into good work.     

Sadiq’s No Wrong Door Open Challenge encouraged innovators to address the challenges that London’s diverse communities can face when accessing the labour market. These include lack of necessary additional support when navigating employment applications or systems; insufficient understanding from employers when tailoring jobs; and lack of support for physical or mental health barriers.  

The three winners are:

• Earlybird, an AI-driven platform will equip individuals with the skills and support they need to overcome barriers to employment, helping them secure and retain meaningful jobs.
• Facework Group CIC, an online platform providing training and workspaces for refugees, that will provide training in employability skills, mental health support, self-employment opportunities, and social integration.
• Tailored Futures, an AI-powered platform providing support to individuals within the criminal justice system by connecting them with employers, helping them access job opportunities and rebuild their lives, ultimately reducing reoffending rates.

Research commissioned by City Hall(1) in the summer of 2023 has shown that integration of employment and skills services could be improved through human centred, technology and innovative solutions to address barriers that make it harder for various Londoners to access support. 

Alongside the winners, five runners up were chosen and will receive £5,000 in additional funding, along with monthly coaching sessions provided by delivery partner, Allia Impact, to help them further their ideas. These ideas range from helping Londoners to access skills and training for green jobs, enhanced CV writing, upskilling for mothers returning to the workplace and support to access job opportunities for young Londoners.  

The Mayor’s adult skills programmes have already supported over one million learners. As part of the Mayor’s commitment to help grow London’s economy, Sadiq is focused on ensuring that Londoners furthest from the labour market to get the support they need to help them build their skills and move into new and better jobs. 

One of the Mayor’s 10 key priorities is the new London Growth Plan, with a target of helping to create more than 150,000 good jobs by 2028 and increasing living standards for all Londoners. The new growth plan aims to grow London’s economy, so we can improve the lives of all Londoners, drive London’s green transition and support prosperity in London and across the country.  

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “These innovative solutions will help those Londoners struggling to gain the skills they need to move ahead in the job market, ensuring our economy has the talented workforce it needs to thrive. 

“In the face of a cost-of-living crisis, increased rents and mortgages and rising energy bills, it is more important than ever for Londoners to get the right employment support, as we continue to build a better, fairer, more prosperous London for everyone.” 

Claudine Adeyemi-Adams, Founder of Earlybird, said: "We are so honoured to be selected for Phase II of the NWD Innovation Challenge. It's real validation for us that the judges, who are experts in employment support and, we hope, future Earlybird users, can see the significant value that our innovation creates. We are really looking forward to deepening our relationships with partners in the GLA network and NWD community and driving greater impact as we scale our solution, particularly for employment support organisations and people who are out of work."  

Titi Solarin, Founder of Tailored Futures CIC, said: "We’ve been working on the concept of this app for several years, and it’s incredible to finally see it moving towards the development stage. This app is designed to help people navigate the complexities of reintegrating into the community after involvement with the criminal justice system. I’m beyond excited about the potential impact it will have, making support and opportunities more accessible to those who need it most." 

Stephen Carrick-Davies CEO of the Facework Group said: "We have proved that with training and support those with the lived experience of migration can play an important role in supporting other refugees to access better quality work or self-employment.  For this to be effective it has to be personalised, human-centric and address wider issues of mental health and integration into the wider community.  We are thrilled that Facework has received NWD support for us to now scale our approach and build partnerships with Local Authority job teams and wider stakeholders."