First Steps Consulting

First Step Consulting is a not-for-profit social enterprise that primarily aims to enhance the employability of ambitious university students and recent graduates. They recruit and train committed volunteers joining their team as pro bono management consultants. Their volunteers work on the challenging consultancy projects they run and help them solve the business problems of their clients. In return, they develop career skills and get hands-on experience alongside gaining a valuable insight into the world of work — vastly improving their employability and future prospects. What They Do Today, it is arguably more important than ever to develop effective business strategies and to make informed decisions. Yet most organisations, especially start-ups, SMEs and nonprofits, have little access to quality business support either due to availability or price. That is why they struggle to achieve their full potential and intended impact in many cases. Their model enables them to help change this as they are able to work with organisations of all shapes and sizes. They provide their clients with a wealth of information and immediately actionable recommendations to help them make better strategic decisions. In every engagement, they strive to serve their clients with excellence and build long-term relationships. In fact, over 60% of their business is from repeat clients.   Impact As their volunteers work on the management consulting projects they run, they improve their commercial awareness and business acumen, develop and demonstrate the skills valued by employers, and gain meaningful work experience. Importantly, they can work on their projects even while studying or working full-time and easily break the cycle of ‘no experience, no job – no job, no experience’. They have already cooperated with hundreds of volunteers and over half of their pro bono consultants are aspiring students and recent graduates from diverse backgrounds. The majority (89%) of their pro bono consultants report that they feel considerably more confident about their career prospects. Tens of their former volunteers are currently working at prestigious organisations and constantly tell them that working on their projects helped them get a decent job. This is what drives them.