Home What we do Youth Inclusion

Young people are integral to our mission as the national What Works centre for youth employment and are fundamental partners in our vision for systems change.

Our approach to youth inclusion

We cannot create better outcomes or find effective solutions for young people’s futures without actively involving them in the decision-making that affects their lives. Youth engagement is essential to us achieving our mission and to the wider systems-change required if we are to solve the UK’s persistent youth employment challenge.

Youth inclusion is a key enabler which strengthens and enriches every area of our work. Young people are embedded as fundamental partners within our governance, evidence generation and influencing work, shaping what we do and advocating within the employment system, while also developing their skills and personal outcomes.

We proudly involve the voices, perspectives and participation of marginalised young people, through our Future Voices Group, Building Futures Youth Advisory Group, Alumni Network, young Board members, and beyond.

Who do we work with?

Through our engagement programmes and governance structures, young people shape our work at every level, grounding our vision and mission in the realities of those facing the greatest barriers in today’s labour market.

Our programmes include youth-led and co-produced approaches that empower young people to drive change on the issues that affect them, alongside wider routes for influence. We support a range of stakeholders with facilitating youth voice and engagement, providing opportunities for our ambassadors to appear in the media, speak at events and participate in policy discussions, and contribute to research and consultations.

Working closely with Youth Futures staff and our partners in government, our Future Voices Group and Alumni Network contribute their insights to ensure lived experience is at the heart of flagship policies for young people.

We are proud to convene the Youth Guarantee Advisory Panel alongside Youth Employment UK, and a dedicated sub-group informing the development of Alan Milburn’s Young People and Work Report.

Youth Governance

Youth representation is embedded through our young Board members, ensuring lived experience shapes not only our delivery but also how we are governed. Jumaimah, Future Voices Group Ambassador

Future Voices Group

Our flagship programme centres young people’s lived expertise in our journey towards systems change, enabling members to lead the conversation on youth employment, and directly influence policy and practice through engagement with policymakers and employers.
Smiling mentor fit bumping teenager on football pitch

Building Futures Youth Advisory Group

Young people aged 15 to 18 have informed and shaped test-and-learn waves of our Building Futures programme evaluation, and worked with Youth Futures staff to appoint new delivery partners for its second phase. Stakeholder engaging with Youth Futures printed resources at event

Alumni network

We have engaged with many cohorts of young people since our creation. Our Alumni Network enables past participants to continue advocating for transformation within the employment system. It brings together several generations of Future Voices Group alumni and young people previously involved in our place-based Connected Futures programme.

Latest youth-created content

Our young ambassadors bring our research and insights to life through innovative, youth-led and meaningfully co-created projects. Through their own lens, they highlight the challenges within the system and define the change they want to see, combining lived experience with robust evidence.

Text reads 'an open letter to the UK Government'

Unlocking Young People’s Potential: Illustrated open letter

In an open letter to the UK Government, young ambassadors highlight the urgency of the youth employment challenge and set out their vision to unlock the potential of more young people. They call for co-designed systems change through joined-up support services that reflect the real journeys of marginalised young people.
Three young people sitting on a bench

Futureproof: Recognise potential, trial what works

Co-produced with Future Voices Group Ambassadors focused on employer engagement, this campaign video challenges common stereotypes about young people in the labour market and invites employers to help build the evidence on what works for recruitment and retention.  
text reads 'this is our outlook'

This is Our Outlook: Short film

A creative interpretation of our Youth Employment 2025 Outlook, this short film uses animation and spoken word to call for action on youth unemployment and inactivity, while urging policymakers to actively involve young people in decision-making.

Youth Power: the current of change

In 2025, ambassadors from our place-based Connected Futures programme worked together to tell a powerful story about youth voice in action across our Brent, Hull and East Midlands partnerships. The film highlights the impact of youth voice helping to shape local systems in communities, presenting four stories interwoven with co-created spoken word poetry.

Future Focused zine

A vibrant and creative youth-led perspective on the challenges faced by young jobseekers, produced by our Future Voices Group in 2024. Blending artistic expression with lived testimony, and interwoven with Youth Futures’ research findings, it surfaces individual stories that illuminate the barriers experienced by so many.