Kevin Osei
Founder of Bridging Barriers, a charity which is focused on helping young people to achieve career success through mentoring.
Kevin is a multi-award-winning social entrepreneur and the founder of Bridging Barriers, a social mobility charity dedicated to helping young people from underrepresented backgrounds achieve career success. Bridging Barriers has supported over 2,000 young people, with hundreds successfully securing employment, partnering with leading employers such as Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest, Premier League and Snapchat.
Kevin’s impact has been widely recognized—he appeared on ITV Good Morning Britain in August 2023, was featured in Turning Point magazine as an “Unsung Hero” (showcased at the Oscars in 2022), and has won multiple awards, including a Social Mobility Award and Black Excellence Award. Most recently, Kevin was recognised in the King’s New Year Honours List 2025 and awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for his services to young people.
Kevin is passionate about ensuring that employers do more to support young people from Black and other disadvantaged backgrounds by providing employment opportunities to enhance their career prospects.
"I want to be a spokesperson because it is a great opportunity to raise awareness of the work my charity does so that more young people can benefit from our programmes."
In the Media
-
Kevin Osei spoke to GMB on A level results day on alternative paths to employment, and wrote for CYPNow on ‘The power of mentoring in bridging barriers to success‘.