Mentor and former board member Ashraf Mohammed speaks during a visit by the President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhan, in June.
📚 Read the full annual report here.
2022 was a year of tremendous progress. We went from 81 placements in 2021 to 144 placements in 2022. We also began collaborations with Bane NOR, Norsk Hydro, KPMG, and EY, whose employees joined us as mentors. As mentors, they not only helped people find jobs but also strengthened their own multicultural competence by working with diversity in practice.
We also expanded into Rogaland, where we welcomed a fantastic new colleague, Tone Indrelid, as well as into Hallingdal, in addition to a significant expansion of our mentoring program in Oslo and our national digital mentoring program. Furthermore, we launched a pilot mentoring program for participants who wanted to start their own businesses and gained a wealth of valuable experience. In total, we held 75 events—a mix of Norwegian and English, and in Oslo, Stavanger, and online. Attendance also skyrocketed, and with up to 43 participants at the weekly job workshops, we outgrew our previous offices in Oslo.
To keep pace with our rapid expansion, we’ve also worked hard on digital transformation over the past year. We undertook a new summer project with Accenture that resulted in a major update, and we’ve been working with Salesforce and our newest colleague—Salesforce intern Mehak Seth—toward an even larger third update of the platform. New features we’re working on for 2022 include a new learning section on the digital platform, a simpler and faster enrollment process, and the option for participants to self-enroll in the future.
We were also a finalist for Social Entrepreneur of the Year at the NHO conference, and we were visited by the President of the Storting, Masud Gharahkhani, who came to learn from the experiences of our mentors and job seekers. We also began a major translation project to offer a comprehensive mentoring program in English, and wrote nine articles on inclusion, job searching, and mentoring, which you can read on our website.
A big thank you to all our mentors and the board, who have contributed so much expertise, dedication, and volunteer work. Thank you also to all the job seekers. It has been a pleasure to be part of your journey toward a “ relevant job ” in Norway. A big thank you also to Wilstar Social Impact, the City of Oslo, Rogaland County, the Directorate of Integration and Diversity (IMDi), Viken County, and Bane NOR for the funding that has made all of this work possible. Thank you also to Bane NOR, Norsk Hydro, Accenture, Salesforce, KPMG, EY, and Oda for their excellent collaboration toward a more inclusive and forward-looking workforce.
📚 Read the full annual report here.