I joined the Future Voices Group to pursue national-level youth advocacy and shape policy through the lenses of intersectionality and identity. I’m excited to work on collaborative projects and meaningful initiatives with my fellow ambassadors! Alongside being a final-year philosophy student at the University of Nottingham, I’m an emerging writer and creative, who champions literacy and reading for leisure. Regarding employment, I am particularly passionate about increasing accessibility for neurodiverse candidates and those in the creative and arts sectors. As a Youth Voice ambassador, I’d like to empower young people from all walks of life to overcome barriers to employment and access their own potential. We are the next generation and should feel fully equipped to take the reins when the time comes.
I became a Future Voices Group Ambassador because I believe young people should have a say in decisions that affect their access to employment. I currently work for a supported employment company that helps people with learning disabilities, autism, and physical or mental health conditions to get into work. Through this, and my own lived experience, I have seen how life changing finding meaningful work can be.
I’m especially focused on improving employment opportunities for neurodivergent people and challenging barriers they face, making sure everyone has the chance to thrive in workplaces that understand and value all types of people. I’m passionate about increasing opportunities for those from the North East, as we have the highest level of young people not in education, employment or training in the UK. As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I wish to influence changes in policy to create a system that works for young people.
I became a future voices ambassador as I am passionate about ensuring that all young people have their voices heard. I also want to help young people understand that they should not put themselves down because they have a disability as I know this from my experience of being autistic and struggling to understand why I was not accepted by most employers.
I am not currently in education.
In my spare time I love to binge watch the tv show friends and watch Disney movies. I am also a big lover of musicals. My favourites being Mamma Mia, Wicked and Les Miserables.
Something I would like to take away from my role as a future voices ambassador is being able to develop my communication and teamwork skills and also working with employers to help young people feel safer and more comfortable when it comes to finding work.
As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I am passionate about ensuring young people, especially those from minority and underrepresented backgrounds, feel heard, supported, and empowered. Growing up, I saw how a lack of guidance and representation can limit opportunities, which inspired me to be part of creating positive change.
I have completed my A-Levels in English Language, History, and Sociology, and I am currently working as an apprentice travel consultant, gaining hands-on experience in a professional environment. Right now, what is most important to me is building my career, achieving financial independence, and helping others access opportunities they may not be aware of.
As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I want to use my voice to break down barriers, increase representation, and support young people in reaching their full potential, regardless of their background.
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador to use my lived experience to champion for meaningful change and provide a voice for young people to be heard. I am currently working for an apprenticeship training provider while completing my own apprenticeship, where I actively advocate for young people and support pathways into employment. I am strongly committed to improving youth employment and increasing opportunities for care leavers. What is most important to me right now is creating fair access to opportunities and making young people feel supported, valued and empowered. As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I want to influence systems, challenge barriers and drive lasting change to create more inclusive and accessible employment opportunities for all young people. I am committed to ensuring no young person is held back by their background or circumstances.
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador because I am passionate about helping young people access fair and quality work, reducing youth unemployment, and expanding opportunities especially for women in STEM fields.
Currently, I work as an engineering apprentice at Arup, where I am continuing to develop my skills and knowledge in the industry. Alongside my career and university studies, I also support students who aspire to attend American colleges through a course that teaches the guidance and insights I wish I had when I first applied to the States.
As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I hope to inspire young people to aim higher and remain ambitious in pursuing their dreams and goals. Having been supported by a bursary myself, I am a strong believer that no dream is too small for God to achieve. I want to use my journey to show others that with determination, support, and faith, opportunities are possible for everyone.
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador because I care about making local systems work better for young people, especially when it comes to fairness, wellbeing and feeling genuinely heard.
I currently Freelance across creative and digital projects while supporting community organisations in London, and I’m passionate about using communication to drive real change.
What matters to me right now is ensuring young people have access to opportunities, safe spaces and support that reflects their real experiences.
As a Youth Voice Ambassador, I want to help shape decisions that impact young people and make sure their voices influence how services are designed and delivered.
I became a Future Voices Group Ambassador to amplify young people’s voices and create real change. Many face barriers like discrimination, limited resources, and a gap between their skills and opportunities. These challenges create uncertainty about their future, making it harder to access education or employment. Through this role, I will advocate for greater support, inclusivity, and opportunities that empower young people to succeed.
I am studying Business and Management at university and enjoying both the course and experience. I look forward to applying the knowledge and skills I gain to pursue a career in this field.
What’s important to me is ensuring young people are supported and have access to fair and equal opportunities. As a Future Voices Group Ambassador, I am eager to contribute to this organisation and team to create a space where all young people can thrive. It’s crucial to consider equity, as every young person has a unique story and starting point. Our solutions must reflect these differences to help them succeed in the future.
I joined FVG as I’m deeply passionate about helping other young people find early career opportunities and gain the essential skills to securing places on these opportunities. It’s something I do in my job and in my personal life, and I’d like to build upon my knowledge of how youth unemployment is tackled systemically to enable me to better serve the youth I try to guide professionally.
I am currently about to start a new full time role in the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). I also work part time for the Young Person’s Action Group as part of the London Violence Reduction Unit. I also do private tutoring and serve as a voluntary early careers mentor for Bridging Barriers.
I want to increase the awareness and availability of opportunities to as many young people as possible, because it is these early opportunities that have the largest ripple effect on the rest of their lives.
I became a Youth Ambassador because it provides me with the opportunity to learn and engage more with the topic of youth unemployment, while also giving me a space to contribute my knowledge and expertise as a young Black woman who has navigated the apprenticeship system. Over the last year, I’ve been a member of the Future Voices Group, creating LinkedIn campaigns that encourage employers to adopt more inclusive recruitment and retention practices, and contributing to summits that embed youth voice at the heart of the conversation.
I wanted to become a Senior Future Voices Ambassador to build on this impact by taking on a more active role in shaping conversations, amplifying the voices of young people from underrepresented backgrounds, and ensuring that lived experience is reflected in the policies and practices that affect them. Diversity, equity and inclusion are incredibly important to me, because without diversity of people there is no diversity of thought.
I’m now starting a role as a Public Affairs Officer at Impetus, and I’m excited to continue building on this work and explore opportunities to drive meaningful change alongside others who are passionate about improving outcomes for young people.
I joined the Future Voices Group to help the Youth Futures Foundation show decision-makers what the transition from education to a career actually feels like today. Having navigated both the university route and professional vocational training, I have seen exactly where the system supports young people and where it leaves them feeling stuck.
Currently, I work as an analyst at a tech consultancy while continuing my professional training. My background in data helps me look beyond the surface of youth unemployment, allowing me to translate lived experiences into the evidence-based insights needed to drive real policy change.
I am driven to represent the overlap of diverse heritage, immigrant family histories, and varying socio-economic backgrounds. These are more than just advocacy points; they are my own lived experience. I want to ensure our backgrounds are recognized as assets, so no young person is held back by their starting point!
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador so I could learn to directly translate my lived experience as a care-leaver into tangible social political change. Currently, I work part-time in operations and projects at a national charity. Ideally I would like to be working in policy in the charity sector, and my current role allows for me to springboard into that field of work. Making sure that I am actively developing my public speaking and self-confidence is important to me, to highlight the voice of care-leavers as a Youth Voice Ambassador.
I recently graduated from Psychology with British Sign Language & Deaf Culture at the University of Sussex. Currently, I am navigating the challenges of the job market, an experience that has highlighted the significant barriers often faced by autistic graduates. Alongside my period of ‘funemployment’, I am a Youth Council Member and Advisor for Ambitious about Autism, as well as a member of the Youth Advisory Forum at Winston’s Wish.
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador to ensure that lived experience does not act as a barrier to individuals achieving their career goals. I am motivated by the opportunity to improve the accessibility of employment support systems and encourage employers to offer genuine opportunities for permanent, inclusive work. My goal is to use my voice to influence the systems that support us – even if it is simply making the journey into permanent, paid employment easier for just one other person.
I use my voice to challenge systems and push for real change where it’s needed most. My lived experience shapes everything I do, from how I understand the barriers young people face to how I work to break them down. I’m passionate about making a difference and creating opportunities that genuinely support young people to thrive. I’m always looking for ways to grow my knowledge and strengthen how I show up for others.
The most important thing to me right now is continuing to build a future with purpose. I want to take on new opportunities, keep developing my voice, and create positive, lasting change for others.
I became a FVG ambassador because voices like mine are underrepresented. My lived experience of being neurodivergent and British Pakistani has made me want to advocate for change for these groups of people.
I’m currently a Youth Advocate for Access Sport, British Taekwondo and Young Minds. I’m a qualified lived experience co-trainer for the Oliver-McGowan Campaign.
I believe it’s important that everyone is represented equally and respectfully as it can be quite challenging to speak up about lived experiences.
In the future, I would like there to be more inclusive and accessible work opportunities especially those who come from disabled and disadvantaged backgrounds.
I became a Youth Voice Ambassador because I am passionate about improving social mobility and ensuring that talent, not background, determines opportunity. Apprenticeships transformed my trajectory, but I am acutely aware that too many young people with the talent to thrive never see these routes, let alone access them.
Currently, I am a solicitor apprentice at Freshfields while studying for my law degree at BPP University. Alongside this, I mentor aspiring apprentices, supporting them through applications and helping them navigate pathways into competitive careers. This has shown me how much of the process still depends on who you know and what you can afford.
As an Ambassador, I want to widen access to high-quality work experience and practical guidance for every student, while ensuring employers are supported by research to design inclusive recruitment pathways, so that opportunities go to those with the most potential rather than the most privilege.
Serving as a Future Voices Group Ambassador is an opportunity I deeply cherish, as I can use my voice to advocate for young people from my socioeconomic background in discussions on youth employment. Having experienced homelessness firsthand, I understand the systemic barriers that disrupt education and shut young people out of opportunities before they’ve even had a chance to begin.
I am deeply committed to widening access for NEET young people facing complex barriers, ensuring they are not written off or left behind. Previously, I worked in Talent Acquisition at a student-led strategy consultancy; built BY students, FOR students. Here I developed inclusive recruitment approaches that opened doors for young people with no prior professional experience, helping them take their first real steps into the corporate world with the skills needed to unlock further opportunities.
I currently study Sociology at the University of Warwick, where I enjoy researching evidence-based societal approaches to transforming youth outcomes.