WYK Named Diversity Pioneer at the NatWest SE 100 Awards

We did it guys! WYK enjoyed a stellar night at the Natwest SE100 Social Business Awards 2024, taking home the prize for Diversity Pioneer and being “Highly Commended” in the Pioneering Newcomer category.

In what was our first ever award nomination, we’re delighted that our work, mission and impact have been recognised by such a prestigious body. The Diversity Pioneer Award is in recognition of WYK “leading by example and inspiring others to embed equity, equality, diversity and inclusion into their organisations and their work in local communities“. Upon giving the award the judges declared us the stand out winners in the category.

The awards have been running since 2010 in collaboration with Pioneers Post, and were set up with a specific goal according to Tim West, Founding Editor. To “unearth and celebrate the countless stories of transformation among communities across the UK, where a whole kaleidoscope of purpose-driven innovators and entrepreneurs are committing their energy and profits to solving the huge issues that threaten society and our planet“.

In attendance were members of the WYK team, Ameenah Bakht, Olivia Rose Inwood as well as our Board Advisor Jack Scriven and co-founder Tom Humphreys. Upon receiving the award (a quite surprised) Tom stated “WYK is all about what What You Know, because it shouldn’t be who you know that determines if you get a good job, your earning potential or your access to opportunities”.

The judges cited our commitment to not only embedding diverse talent into jobs, but to also help them land roles where they can have successful careers. They also mentioned our innovative use of Artificial Intelligence which WYK has been developing in partnership with Marvi AI.

WYK’s Digital Marketing Skills Bootcamps have trained over 200 young people in 2024 with a goal to break through 400 before the end of the year. Our courses are commissioned by The Department for Education, The Grater London Authority and The Prince’s Trust, with an aim to lower the barriers to entry into digital and tech careers. Since 2020 we’ve placed candidates into over 120 different organisations and helped hundreds of of young people launch careers. Over 75% of our trainees hail from minority communities, and over half are from the three most deprived deciles in the Indices of Multiple Deprivation index.

We’re thrilled that our work is being recognised and hope that this can help us raise awareness about our mission, engage more industry professionals and employers to support us in 2024 and beyond.