Programme Structure
Participants refresh and upgrade their skills for working in their sector in today's Britain. This component of the programme will give the participants the confidence that they are up to date with the market and prepare them to successfully deal with the requirements and challenges of the workplace.
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Example: Project Management
In this session the participants are introduced to the widely recognised and practiced methodology of the Project Management Institute. As they follow the project life cycle, they also learn about the significance of each stage, the tried and tested tools project managers use and the ways of avoiding common pitfalls. In order to obtain a practical understanding of the methodology and tools, the participants get to test it through managing a real life project. Throughout their projects, the participants will have access to expert additional advice to support their learning.
Our training is applied through a schedule of 6 face-to-face one-day trainings spread over 5 months, as well as a number of online sessions in-between. For more information on the schedule structure please refer to our programme timeline section below.
Professional Development
Personal Development
Support participants to develop self-awareness and discover their power to live the lives they deserve, influencing the world around them in turn. It will encourage the sense of connection and sharing with others in their workplace and communities.
Example: Confidence
This in-depth session helps the participants gain awareness of the beliefs and attitudes that may be limiting them in their personal and professional lives. It addresses important topics such as dealing with setbacks, managing one's emotions, understanding and using one's strengths. The participants are introduced to the notion of 'learned optimism' and to the way they can use it to become more confident and fulfilled.
The mentoring component includes a one-to-one session with a mentor every two weeks where participants can seek support and advice on any programme-related topic.
Our mentors are professionals with over 5 years work experience who will on a bi-weekly basis encourage you to challenge your assumptions, broaden your horizons, raise your aspirations and achieve your goals. They are a sounding board, offering guidance during your transition to a more fulfilling career, and the go-to person when you require assistance with any material covered in your training sessions.
Meet some of our mentors:
Our speakers like to call themselves ordinary people, like you and I, but we know that they do extraordinary things. They are individuals who overcame bias and made their international experiences play to their advantage. Their incredible personal and professional stories are filled with successes and failures, but above all they are driven by determination and hard work. During the sessions we will understand the "who, what, where and when" that helped them to change their lives, as we all know that success is rarely a solo effort.
Ben is the CEO and Co-founder of Shepper. Prior to starting Shepper, Ben was part of the early start-up teams at Streetcar (now Zipcar) and LOVESPACE.
Ben holds degrees from UCL and Imperial College London and more recently completed his MBA at University of Oxford. Having grown up living in a number of countries including Belgium and Germany, Ben has a strong understanding of different cultures both in the workplace and socially.
Ben is an active angel investor in a number of early stage businesses and has a keen interest in social enterprise.
Ben Prouty
Jolanta Touzard
Currently working for Aviva where she invests in large scale infrastructure projects, Jolanta commenced her career in the field of immigration and integration of immigrants into their recipient societies. In this capacity she spent one year working with immigrant children, in particular the Roma, trying to find their footing within the UK society and education system. This resulted in a study and a thesis which she wrote on the exclusion of Roma children from the East European societies and their path to integration within the British society. Jolanta has also worked extensively on immigration and integration issues whilst in London at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Migration Policy Institute based in Washington D.C. upon completing MSc in Public Policy at University of Oxford. Although she currently works in the corporate world, her heart remains close to the subject of immigrant integration and in particular women into their working space, social circles and the wider British society.
Mentoring
Inspirational speakers
Asia is a qualified financial analyst with 6 years of experience in the financial services industry. She holds CFA designation and Bachelors degrees in International Relations from Westminster University and Economics from University College London and is currently completing a Master degree in Finance at the London School of Economics.
Asia worked at Goldman Sachs and Standard and Poor's and more recently co-founded Hacking Happiness. Her interests range from poetry and philosophy to current affairs and film. As an enthusiastic climber and traveller she organised and participated in many independent expeditions and climbing challenges on four continents.
Asia Chabelska
Martin studied law at Oxford University then practised as a criminal law barrister, until he decided to find a more satisfying career.
He has since created two businesses and was a consultant to 10 organisations, big and small, at the intersection of careers, learning and technology.
Most recently he was Head of Delivering Happiness at Raising IT and now splits his time between Career Consultancy for BPP, the leading education provider for the professions, and Life Productions that helps professionals find work they love through an online mentor-drive course.
Martin Underwood
Our participants are at the core of the programme as they are the ones who truly know what they are going through and can share the type of practical insights that can only come from first-hand experience. We will drive the development of a strong peer group that supports each other and will be encouraged to meet up to work together on training, attend events and reflect on the programme as a whole.
Peer-to-peer
Job Introductions
A lack of relevant work experience from the UK is one of the biggest obstacles preventing skilled migrants from finding employment in their respective disciplines, fulfilling their professional ambitions and adequately contributing to the UK economy. Undertaking jobs not on par with their education or experience from their home countries creates a “professional career gap" which with time becomes a major deterrent for recruiters and hiring managers. By upskilling individuals and connecting talent with forward-thinking employers, we aim to overcome this market failure and provide our Onpartners with new opportunities.
Programme Results
Exemplary Programme Timeline
Agnieszka from Poland
Eszter from Hungary
Manuela from Romania
Klaudia from Poland
Giedre from Lithuania
Our holistic 5-month programme consists of the following components:
"Onpartu builds women's confidence by identifying and developing the key skills that employers look for, and by building a network of professional support that increases the likelihood of success."
Lani Du Toit - Onpartu Trainer, Learning and Development Program Consultant at Ernst & Young
80%
Group Training in London
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Soft-skills focus
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Facilitator-led face-to-face sessions
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​First training 2-day, thereafter 1 day
Training
Mentoring
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Personalised training and career planning
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1 hour bi-weekly
Online Training
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Self-led course
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Microsoft Office focus
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Completed at own convenience
Unable to find a career in the UK linked to her cartography experience back home, Monika worked as a restaurant waitress. She joined Onpartu as she “desperately wanted to change something”. The programme re-built her confidence, and she got particular support from her mentor and her buddy. With this, alongside more practical job searching skills and a larger network, she managed to secure a position as a cartographer within four months of completing the programme.
Case Studies
Monika from Poland
After six stable and successful years as a bookkeeper in Romania, Elena moved to the UK despite being unable to speak English. Her plan was to spend a year as a nanny, but this ended up being six, and she also got married and had a child in this time. She wanted to return to her career but constant rejections made her upset and disappointed. Onpartu gave her “information, ideas and optimism”, all of which led to being offered two exciting positions after completing the programme.
Aleksandra left Poland right at the beginning of the recession. She worked for five years as a nanny before she secured her first job in a laboratory, which despite being more aligned with her career from back home, was still far from what she aspired to achieve. Onpartu benefitted her in many ways, but in particular gave her the confidence to approach her boss. Since she finished, she has been promoted internally and also offered other roles, so is now excited by her future prospects.
