About
What we do
ConnectHive is a non-profit organisation that aims to provide young people with free and fair access to professional connections. We believe that every young person should have the opportunity to pursue their career ambitions, regardless of their background. Through ConnectHive, we offer a range of career guidance, development, and networking opportunities in a friendly and flexible format. We’re building towards a future where all young people can unlock their full potential and achieve their career aspirations.
What we stand for
Our vision
Empower young people to unleash their full potential and realise their dreams.
Our mission
Level the playing field by unlocking the benefits of connections for all young people, irrespective of their background.
Our Core Beliefs
Humans are kind and generous.
Good deeds are like pebbles in a pond sending ripples in many directions.
Everyone deserves a fair chance to achieve their goals and ambitions.
Helping others is a path to happiness.
Connecting people across socioeconomic divides builds empathy and tolerance.
What drives us
Social Capital
The social resources available to an individual, i.e. the networks, experiences and relationships that give them an economic advantage.
In the UK, the influence of “social capital” is significant when it comes to accessing quality career opportunities from a young age. Those lacking in established connections can find their options severely constrained, with significantly less career education leaving many young individuals unaware of the various job types and industries available to them.
Research shows that young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds face specific challenges:
21% less likely to personally know someone with their desired job.
41% do not have a family member whose career they admire.
67% more likely to avoid applying for a job or course due to a perceived lack of fit.
58% more likely to feel ill-equipped to compete in the job market.
34% more likely to believe that people like them do not succeed in life.
References
The Social Market Foundation's 2021 report "A Matter of Perspective"
The Behavioural Insights Team's research on Effective Careers Interventions for Disadvantaged Young People
For many young people, socio-economic background is a primary barrier to achieving long-term career success. Without access to a diverse network of experienced professionals, selecting a career path or breaking into an industry or company can be exceptionally challenging. A lack of confidence stemming from limited knowledge and resources can make it seemingly impossible to dream big. It also hampers the ability to present oneself as an impressive and driven candidate during job applications and networking opportunities.
ConnectHive is dedicated to ensuring that every young person can benefit from the power of "who they know." By providing free access to professional connections, ConnectHive enables all young individuals to tap into the advantages of social capital: valuable information, guidance, confidence, and opportunities. Our platform offers a supportive, friendly, and flexible format, making these benefits accessible to everyone.
Through ConnectHive's comprehensive support, young people facing barriers are empowered to make informed decisions about their future and pursue their career aspirations. We believe that no individual should be limited by their circumstances, and we are committed to equipping young people with the tools they need to achieve their career dreams.
Meet the team
Sandra Hoac
Co-founder
Sandra is an eager advocate for equality. With a background in management consulting, she has now taken her strategy work in-house and has built up her experience in managing business in the corporate world. She is also an experienced entrepreneur who is more than familiar with the intricacies of setting up and launching a peer-to-peer platform.
Suzi Jonker
Co-founder
Suzi strives to make a genuine difference in the communities she lives in and is passionate about change being done with people rather than to them. Her background in graphic design, community engagement and urban planning has led her across three continents, working with communities & organisations to support upskilling and encourage meaningful participation.
Jessica Penberthy
Co-founder
Jessica is passionate about helping others. As an ex-management consultant and University of Oxford MBA, she has big ideas for disrupting the status quo in the not-for-profit world, bringing low cost and efficient business models to have a meaningful impact on the world. Jessica is also a qualified career coach, which drove the idea to bring equal and fair access to networks and career development opportunities to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Gee Grewal
Marketing Director
Gee is an entrepreneur and project manager with more than a decade of experience across local Government, not-for-profit organisations and the cultural sector. Passionate about co-curating community spaces which are inclusive, accessible and fun, she specialises in connecting people, ideas and organisations together to collaboratively innovate and deliver programmes for social good.
Niketa Cheney
Community Manager
Niketa is the Community Manager at ConnectHive. She is passionate about supporting others in their journey to success and spends her time ensuring all our amazing Mentors and Mentees feel taken care of in the mentoring process.
Won Kyuong Cho
Content Executive
Won is a BA fine arts student at Goldsmiths university of London. She grew up in Germany, Korea and now lives in London. By living in different countries has allowed her to be more open to new experiences, people and environments. By those experiences she has learned the difficulties that students in different world faces. She is excited to be involved in ConnectHive to help young people just like herself.
Ben Steele
Advisor
Ben is a passionate servant leader with a genuine interest in the development and growth of others. He is a coach and mentor who is an advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, and is committed to having a positive impact on society. He hopes to bring together his skills and experiences of 20+ years within the financial services industry to create a better world.
Paul Willoughby
Advisor
Paul is adamant that more can be done to help people access the right expertise and assistance at their time of need. He recognises that when passionate people are partnered with the right experts their capability to ‘do good’ is limitless. Paul has spent all of his career in financial services and wants to use his experience to support the ConnectHive team to achieve their mission.
Hardev Grewal
Partnerships Lead
Hardev is a changemaker & thought leader who, coming from a working-class, ethnic minority background, is well aware of the many obstacles making critical support inaccessible to those from disadvantaged and/or minoritised background. Having benefited from the support of one of our partners himself, Hardev is excited to develop new and existing partnerships for ConnectHive, to help bridge this gap and support others.