To understand Field Ready's beginnings, we must start with three questions:
1
Why is the journey from education into employment so challenging for young women and men, when there is high demand from employers to find and retain people close to their operations?
2
How can we ‘bridge the gap’ to help determined and enthusiastic education leavers get decent jobs with companies who will support their development?
3
What do companies need to do differently to get the very best from their new hires and retain them in the business?
Field Ready’s founders were determined to answer these questions. In 2015 they worked with a handful of companies to design, fund and run a single employability programme at a technical university in Ghana. 100% of the programme candidates walked straight into great jobs. Many of them still work for the companies who hired them.
From that moment, Phil Andrews and Peter Mackenzie Smith built a unique team and a remarkable business. It has supported companies to hire, upskill and retain thousands of young women and men who gain meaningful, successful careers close to where they live.
Today, Field Ready has offices across Africa. Our clients are some of the fastest growing businesses on the continent as well as large and established international corporations. They all have one thing in common: a desire to partner with us to find, train and retain great young women and men.
Our principles
Sustainability
All our programmes are locally designed, led and implemented to ensure their sustainable and long-term impact. We partner with national education institutions and invest in their teaching and learning capabilities.
Social impact
Wherever possible we work with businesses to ensure that the first beneficiaries of new employment opportunities are for host communities.
Quality
We have developed thorough quality assurance processes for every stage of our selection and learning. Senior representatives from organisations in our Alliance, called Technical Commissioners, select, support, and validate candidates on our programmes.
Collaboration
We bring together diverse groups of organisations and individuals from government, industry, and education to work towards the common goal of national workforce employability and prosperity.
Equal opportunities
We believe every motivated and talented individual deserves the opportunity to achieve their full potential. We support women to succeed in traditionally male-dominated industries and aim for 50/50 gender participation in all our programmes.
Accessibility
We ensure everyone can access and benefit from our learning programmes and resources. We offer both in-person and virtual-instructor led learning, open to people of all backgrounds.