One of our fantastic Youth Empowerment interns, James, wrote this informative piece about his time volunteering with Studenteer, and the importance of giving opportunities to our youth.

What is Youth?

This refers to those in adolescence before one has developed into an adult. Young people have been severely affected by the pandemic due to the closure of schools and colleges and many have been furloughed or made redundant. This has caused economic uncertainty as well as amplifying mental health issues, given that 20% of adolescents experience a mental health issue each year.

Why should I support Youth?

It’s simple really. Young people need support more than ever. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, youth employment (those aged between 18-24) in the UK has fallen by 336,000 between March 2020 and February 2021. This has meant young people are not being provided with opportunities to create a future for themselves. Studenteer aims to rectify this by working on creating opportunities with non-profits, something I have been helping with throughout this internship.

Additionally, through getting involved in this, non-profits will be able to improve the quality of their services provided by utilising the resources of Studenteer and the volunteers we have. This then may improve the awareness of youth as well as the organisation itself by establishing meaningful relationships within local and regional communities.

What is an Internship?

This refers to working in a position to gain experience, generally for a limited period of time. For young people, internships can be a great way to find opportunities in the industry they’re interested in. Being a student myself, this internship opportunity with Studenteer has enabled me to improve my confidence in networking with organisations and helping me to build a future for myself and others by connecting with non-profits. Through undertaking this, I’ve been able to develop key skills such as creating posts similar to this, which are important going forward after graduating, to be able to secure full time employment after finishing my degree.

What have I learned about youth employment?

By working as an intern for Studenteer on this campaign, I’ve been given an opportunity to help make change in society by networking with non-profits so that the youth of today can secure their future for tomorrow. This has enabled me to contact many local charities I was previously unaware of who are passionate about supporting youth. I have also experienced what it is like to feel empowered by those around you by working together to make a difference in the world.

Additionally, through research, one key thing I have come to realise is the importance of having a sense of community, as one charity, called the Whitechapel centre, work on eradicating homelessness within the north west region. Throughout this internship, they have supported me on creating opportunities by providing me with ideas to implement on the internship such as fundraising, and relevant charities they know of to contact.

Benefits of employing youth

Flexible – Young people generally are quite adaptable and skilled in implementing and utilising required resources such as technology, which can generate significant awareness for non profit organisations and so it makes sense to take advantage of this.

Cost Effective – Young people are eager to learn and energetic. and so by utilising voluntary placements such as internships, they can develop key skills for their professional career.

Creativity – Young people are well informed on how to effectively target the youth of today and so have the necessary ability to make a difference to non profit organisations, such as with fundraising or creating social posts.

Strong mindset – Young people come from a variety of different backgrounds, and so are resilient and driven in developing their mindset and attitude.

By James Byrne for Studenteer

© All Rights Reserved, Studenteer 2021

Creativity – Young people are well informed on how to effectively target the youth of today and so have the necessary ability to make a difference to non profit organisations such as with fundraising or creating social posts.Strong mindset – Young people come from a variety of different backgrounds andso are quite resilient and driven developing their mindset and attitude.

key skills such as creating posts similar to this which are important going forwardafter graduating to be able to secure full time employment after finishing my degree.

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