The Radical Recruit Christmas Crowdfunder: helping disadvantaged jobseekers find meaningful work

Radical Recruit is a small but mighty recruitment company that unashamedly challenges the status quo and strives to turn diversity and inclusion rhetoric into meaningful actions.

Radical’s mission is to upskill, enable and support people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them find and progress within careers that reward honest work with fair pay. Since they began, in 2019, Radical has helped 600 people find jobs they are proud of and boasts a 92% job retention rate.

Radical Founder Emma Freivogel explains: “, Our Radicals are people who are furthest from the labour market because they have experienced/are experiencing adversity such as homelessness, domestic violence, addiction, contact with the care or criminal justice service and modern-day slavery. They also tend to be members of protected classes such as the Global Majority/BAME, disabled and LGBTQIA+ communities. We care and we are knowledgeable when it comes to navigating the corporate world therefore are able to make connections to great employers and opportunities. We don’t believe in placing people into “just any job”. We believe in working with our Radicals to identify all the skills and experiences they have to offer an employer and then give them the tools and confidence they need to ace an interview and land a job doing something that they’re *actually* interested in.”

This Christmas, Radical is asking people to consider donating what they can to help keep their business going and help Radical candidates through these challenging times. They are aiming to raise £50,000. A £10 donation will contribute towards heating or travel to an interview and £25 will pay for a food shop – meaning that candidates aren’t facing their next career step cold, hungry or exhausted from walking. As a mutual exchange, generous individuals who donate can claim rewards, ranging from Afternoon Tea, DJs and inspirational public speakers for future events, upskilling and workshop opportunities, access to online webinars, 2024 Radical Conference tickets – and more.

Emma adds: “The Radical Recruit Christmas Crowdfunder will allow us to continue this work into 2024, supporting those who are the greatest need of support and ensuring that they don’t “fall through the cracks” again. Whether it’s £5 or £10 that you have spare personally, or a larger, corporate charity-allocated pot that you could put to good use, we’d be so incredibly grateful for your support.”

Radical success story Kaidon (pictured) met with Emma shortly after being released from prison. With so many natural talents and transferable skills, the biggest challenge for him would be to find an employer who could see past the ‘ex-offender’ label. Within a matter of weeks, Kaidon had secured a Digital Marketing Account Manager role with Quick Fox Labs.

Kaidon says: “, My upbringing wasn’t a straightforward one compared to others. My father wasn’t around for a few years of my life and would pop up sporadically in my early teens. With just me and my mum left in the household, we just about had enough disposable income to clothe and feed ourselves. This is when I turned to crime.

I got locked up for the first time after just leaving school and did a six-month custodial sentence in a juvenile prison. My second ‘stint’ inside was when I turned 21 and would have me do two-and-a-half years behind the door.

Ironically, I met some people who completely changed my outlook on life the second time around. They helped me to see things differently and opened my mind to having new experiences I never thought were possible.

Radical Recruit was introduced to me at a time in my life when I knew what I wanted to do, but the opportunities weren’t prevalent. They flipped the script and took someone who was ‘rough around the edges’, polishing me up so that I was ready for the challenges ahead.

From helping me prepare my CV, to interview practice, Radical primed me ready for my first proper interview in over 10 years. Within the space of two weeks, I’d had my first interview and within four weeks I had earned a new job: something I had ruled out completely.

I don’t know what the future holds for me. But what I do know is that it’s a much brighter one if I continue to apply myself in my current role as a Digital Marketing Account Manager.

Employers need to understand that there is untapped potential lying within prison leavers and it is waiting to be extracted. I’ve already recommended Radical Recruit to others I know who have been jailed, because unlike other recruitment agencies Radical actually LISTEN. And I love them for this.

Radical has given me the chance to gain human, social and financial capital and I couldn’t thank them enough. Radical Recruit TO The WORLD!’’

Radical are also keen to hear from people who are able to gift their time to the charity. There are regular opportunities to mentor or upskill their candidates – for example, Radical regularly holds workshops where Radicals are put through their paces with mock interviews to help prepare them with job applications.

All information, donation breakdown and up-to-date fundraising totals can be found here https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/radical-recruit-christmas-crowdfunder