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Seven youth advisors will tour Parliament and join in Westminster Hall on Tuesday 21 April, to share their experiences and showcase the work they do in Blackpool to improve support for young people.
Youth advisors play a vital role in influencing change in Blackpool. Through the Blackpool Connected Futures programme, youth advisors work alongside Blackpool Council, schools, employers and partner organisations to make sure decisions about education, employment and support are shaped by the voices of young people themselves.
During their two-day trip to London, the group will attend a national event alongside Dartington Service Design Lab, the research partner for Blackpool’s Connected Futures programme. Connected Futures is a £16m programme that seeks to change the journey from education to employment for young people facing exclusion and disadvantage.
The event will focus on how listening to young people can help tackle complex challenges such as youth unemployment.
“Blackpool’s young people have powerful voices, and this visit to Westminster is about making sure those voices are heard where decisions are made. Our youth advisors bring valuable insight, shaped by lived experience, and they are already influencing positive change here in Blackpool.
“Taking that message to London shows just how seriously we take youth voice. We are proud of these young people and the leadership they continue to show in shaping better futures for themselves and for others across the town.”
The council is continuing its efforts to help more young people into education, employment or training and the youth advisors are ensuring that plans for more young people to find work or training that they enjoy are co-designed with young people rather than for them.
All members of the youth advisor team bring valued lived experience to their role, giving them insights into the challenges young people not in employment, education or training can face. Each has previously been NEET, four are care experienced, and one is neurodivergent. Several have also taken part in local youth participation initiatives, including the young inspector programme delivered with Just Uz. For most of the group, this will be their first visit to London.
Youth voice is already shaping real change across the town. Young people’s feedback has directly informed investment from the Youth Futures Foundation, supporting youth voiced informed initiatives such as:
- The Connected Curriculum pilot, helping more than 300 pupils combine vocational learning with GCSEs
- Organising careers engagement across 13 secondary schools
- Developing stronger partnerships with employers and further education providers
These projects are helping to raise aspirations and improve access to a range of routes into education, training and employment for young people in Blackpool.
The visit to Westminster represents another step in ensuring Blackpool’s young people are not only listened to locally but recognised nationally for the contribution they are making to long‑term change.
“I’m looking forward to welcoming our youth advisors to Parliament and showing them first-hand how their voices can help shape national conversations. I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many of them through their fantastic work here in Blackpool, including recently at my jobs fair where they spoke directly with young people about opportunities and challenges. They’ve already made a real impact in our constituency and I’m proud to now support them in bringing that same energy and insight to Westminster.”
Looking ahead, the youth advisors are working on a new campaign with young people and schools, to ensure people understand that there is no single route to success. GCSEs may be part of a journey, but they do not define a young person’s future.
Blackpool Council believes every young person deserves the chance to find a pathway they enjoy and can succeed in – regardless of the level of their ambition.