By Maria Carraro, Head of Corporate Partnerships at UK Youth
For too many young people, getting into work isn’t as simple as writing a better CV or practising interview questions.
The Milburn Review reinforced something we see through our work with young people and youth organisations: the problem isn’t a lack of aspiration. Young people want opportunities, but the routes into them don’t always work.
CV writing, interview skills and employability training all have an important role to play, but they are only part of the picture. Young people also need trusted support, meaningful connections with employers and opportunities to put those skills into practice. By bringing youth workers and employers together around young people, we can help turn employability support into real experiences, stronger networks and pathways into work.
That’s the thinking behind Building Connections, our long-term employability programme made possible by Coca-Cola Europacific Partners (CCEP).
Building connections, not just skills
Building Connections puts youth workers at the heart of employability support.
Youth workers already have trusted relationships with young people. They understand their strengths and aspirations and provide safe, supportive spaces where young people can build confidence and explore what’s possible.
Through Building Connections, youth workers develop relationships with local employers and turn those connections into meaningful experiences – from careers events and workplace visits to mentoring, work experience, volunteering and paid employment.
Our latest Year 4 report shows what this approach can achieve.
Across four years, 7,315 young people have been reached, 3,675 have attended employability events and 362 have been supported into paid work.
In Year 4 alone, 120 young people took part in work experience and 138 started volunteering roles. Young people told us that meeting employers helped them discover career paths they didn’t know existed and opened doors to further experiences and opportunities.
As one participant put it:
“I walked away not just with skills, but with a stronger sense of who I am and how I want to show up in the world.”
That’s why employability can’t just be about making young people ‘job ready’. We need to make sure there are meaningful opportunities to step into – and trusted people alongside them to help make those opportunities feel possible.
Partnership can open doors
Building Connections also demonstrates the role businesses can play beyond simply offering jobs at the end of the process.
CCEP brings business knowledge, volunteers, networks and employer connections. UK Youth brings youth sector expertise and infrastructure. Local youth organisations bring deep knowledge of their communities and, crucially, trusted relationships with young people.
Together, these strengths help turn connections into opportunities.
For employers, that can mean opening up workplaces, sharing knowledge and creating meaningful experiences. For youth organisations, it means stronger connections to local employers and more opportunities to put in front of young people.
It’s a model that shows what’s possible when businesses and youth organisations work together around the needs and ambitions of young people.
Making the journey into work better
There is no single solution to the challenges facing young people entering today’s labour market. But four years of Building Connections has reinforced a simple lesson:
Skills matter. But so do relationships, networks and real opportunities.
UK Youth exists to widen the reach and deepen the impact of youth work and outdoor learning. That means backing youth workers to keep showing up for young people, while using the evidence and learning from programmes like Building Connections to influence how businesses, funders and wider systems support them.
If we want more young people to thrive in work, we need to look beyond whether young people are ‘job ready’ and ask whether the pathways around them are ready too.
Because young people shouldn’t have to navigate the journey into work alone.
Read the Building Connections Year 4 report to discover what we’re learning about how youth work, employers and long-term partnership can create better pathways into employment.
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