Turning young people’s ideas into action – The first phase of L!STEN Act Change!
- Munji
- 10 minutes ago
- 4 min read
What is the project all about?
L!STEN Act Change is our newest youth-led project where young people in Stockport come together to speak up, take action and make a difference on the things that matter to them. It’s a space to share ideas, shape projects and help make Stockport even better for young people. Topics will include work and opportunities, health and wellbeing, and activities and safe spaces. Our first phase was all things work and opportunities which has been a major talking point on our agenda with young people this year. With 4.9% of 16/17 year olds estimated to be NEET (Not in Employment, Education and Training), we really wanted the group to deep dive into the issues they face locally in Stockport and make steps to change these!
Our youth directors, for one, were very vocal about the issues they face when considering work and employment. Here are some of their comments:
We need “Access to better career guidance, more chance to gain real life experiences” and “more entry-level jobs for young people without needing previous experience, better access to apprenticeships and training, more local work experience placements and clearer career guidance.”
“I think there should be a council-backed website or hub that lists job opportunities specifically for young people to make it easier to find and apply.”
“I feel as though exam pressure, lack of work experience and general necessary life skills are still being overlooked within our society.”
“My generation of young people are still the same ones who lost valuable schooling time due to COVID and the same people who may have never had the luxury of work experience.”
“I feel like society is still underdelivering with the youth offer — especially with work experience and English as an additional language students.”
“I’d like to see equal opportunities for everyone, no matter their background. It’s unfair that things like income can limit young people’s potential.”
“Obviously young people lack life experience but we aren’t thick, and I think a lot of people forget that and therefore undermine our voices.”
What happened in the sessions?
We began the project by exploring what social action means and the impact young people can have when they identify an issue and take action to create positive change.
To help shape their thinking, we shared research we had previously conducted into the challenges facing young people across Stockport. This gave the group a broader understanding of the issues affecting young people in their local area and encouraged them to think beyond their own experiences, ensuring that their ideas and actions could be representative of the wider community.
Through these discussions, the young people identified access to work experience as an issue they felt particularly strongly about. They highlighted not only the lack of opportunities available, but also a lack of understanding about how to successfully secure a placement in the first place.
For many young people, work experience is seen as an important first stepping stone. It can help build confidence, develop new skills and provide the connections and experience that can open the door to further opportunities. However, the group recognised how disheartening it can be to receive repeated rejections when trying to secure these initial opportunities – particularly when those experiences can feel like a barrier before young people have even had the chance to demonstrate what they can offer.
So…what did they do?
Having identified the barriers young people face when trying to secure work experience, the group thought carefully about what action they could take that would have the greatest impact within the time and resources available to them.
They decided to focus on two key actions:
1) Creating a work experience guide
The young people recognised that one of the biggest barriers was simply not knowing where to start. They therefore created a practical work experience guide aimed specifically at young people entering Year 10 who may have little or no understanding of how to find and secure a placement.
The guide brings together useful information and advice to help young people navigate the process, from where to look for opportunities through to how to approach organisations and put themselves forward. It is designed to give young people greater confidence in taking those first steps and make the process feel more accessible.
2) Taking their campaign to a key decision-maker
The group also wanted to ensure that their campaign reached someone who could help take their ideas further. They therefore arranged a meeting with Navendu Mishra, MP for Stockport, to present their campaign.
The young people shared an overview of the challenges they had identified, including the wider barriers young people face when accessing opportunities, and explained why work experience was such an important starting point for building confidence, skills and future opportunities.
They used the meeting as an opportunity not only to share their own experiences and ideas, but also to advocate for change and start a conversation with someone who could potentially help influence the opportunities available to young people in Stockport.
Here is the campaign video the young people created, filmed by Stockport-born social enterprise SazMedia: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/81vqupd4c8swxq7nlm65n/PIE-LISTEN-ACT-CHANGE-Campaign-04.mp4?rlkey=tstjwar8v1btsx0er6xc9fi1r&st=k6jz2xge&dl=0
And here is the presentation they gave!
What’s next?
With the support of Navendu Mishra and his team, we will be receiving a full list of organisations he knows that are willing to take on young people for work experience!
As well as this, we will be sending out their work experience guide to all secondary schools and colleges in Stockport at the beginning of the 2026-27 academic year.
Thank you to all the young people who took part in this first phase, there have been such valuable discussions and steps to tackle the barriers faced when sourcing work experience. We’re excited to see what phase 2 brings! Made possible thanks to National Lottery players.
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