Youth voices on…
How might we better support young people to build skills for their future?
Leadership Skills Foundation invited young people to share their perspectives on how they can be better support to develop essential skills for the future.
This consultation was part of a pilot for The Speak Up Challenge, a new youth voice programme for 14-19 year olds designed to:
help participants build the skills and confidence to take the lead in campaigning for improved opportunities for young people.
provide a platform for their views and ideas to be taken seriously by professionals and policy makers.
Who was involved?
This was our first prototype for the Speak Up Challenge: 25 young people from Prenton High School for Girls, Hartpury College and Chesterfield FC Community Foundation took part in the challenge.
Participants were 36% male and 64% female. The centres cover broad socio-economic range, from 25% most deprived to 37% least deprived nationally (IMD).
How did they participate?
Through a series of group skills-building activities focused on teamwork, problem solving and communication, they shared their perspectives in which ever way they felt most confident.
Participants chose various ways to present their views: group discussion, mindmaps, witten text, voice notes, videos and spoken presentations.
The response from professionals
The young people involved in this challenge spoke up for:
More opportunities to develop life skills
through clubs, lessons in finance, and activities like first aid.
Challenging stereotypes that hold young people back.
A more flexible and practical curriculum
so young people can build skills by following their passions.
Improved career preparation
through more work experience, interview practice, and support to build their CV.
Representatives from Leadership Skills Foundation, Skills Builder and WWF UK listened and responded to the young people’s views. This video was presented back to participants a few weeks after the challenge.