How Our Bright Future boosted young people’s career aspirations

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By Cath Hare, Head of Grants

Our Bright Future, a £33 million youth empowerment partnership led by The Wildlife Trusts and funded by The National Lottery Community Fund draws to a close this month.

The programme brought together 31 projects from the environmental and youth sectors. Projects shared the aim of empowering young people to lead future environmental change and ranged in scale from national to local. Project activities included: involving young people in practical environmental conservation; engaging them in vocational training and work experience; supporting them to develop their own social action campaigns; and helping them to start their own sustainable enterprises.

Our Bright Future worked with more than 128,000 young people, helping them develop skills and experience to become the environmental leaders of the future.

The seven-year programme’s evaluation report found that young people were consistently more confident, skilled, happier, and better able to find work after participating in the programme and spending time in nature.

The programme enabled almost 9,000 young people to gain qualifications, over 1,600 to enter apprenticeships, and more than 200 young entrepreneurs to start a business or social enterprise. The project also had an impact on career ambitions, with 40% of alumni surveyed stating that participation in Our Bright Future influenced them to pursue an environmental career.

84% of past participants surveyed stated that Our Bright Future had improved their hopes for the future
Just under a third of young people surveyed linked their success in securing jobs or further study to taking part in Our Bright Future
Experiences gained have provided young people with “something to talk about” in job interviews and applications, when applying for opportunities within and outside of the environmental sector.

person in a safety helmet with gloves on holding a chainsaw on the shoulder — (Mark Alexander Photography)

“School wasn’t for me, I found it hard to learn in the classroom and just wanted to be outside doing practical things, so I left but not really knowing what to do next.”

That’s where Fife’s Our Bright Future project was able to help. The programme delivered a range of Modern Apprenticeships in Rural Skills, Horticulture and Trees and Timber from its Partner sites across Fife.

“I applied and was accepted onto the programme which I’ve really enjoyed, especially working with the chainsaws. I now have my NTPC chainsaw maintenance, crosscutting and felling (up to 380mm) ticket as well as aerial rescue and use of chainsaw up a tree, which lets me chainsaw on the ground and at height. My favourite bit is when you make a really nice cut and you hear the crack as the tree falls without snagging on anything on the way down! I’ve also surprised myself in that the paperwork side of the apprenticeship has been OK, they are definitely the way forward.”

Jack was nominated as a finalist in Lantra Scotland’s Learner of the Year Awards in the Trees and Timber category, narrowly missing out as runner-up. The training and experience he has received has allowed him to enter the rural sector as a skilled professional in his chosen field.

a smiling person holding wooden mushrooms — (Our Bright Future)

Jade joined the Green Futures project on a 16-month apprenticeship with Cumbria Wildlife Trust and Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust.

“Twelve months ago, I wouldn’t have believed it possible. One of my biggest achievements has been getting my chainsaw ticket due to my determination and refusal to be beaten by anxiety. This has been one of my biggest takeaways, that even when things are big, scary and seem impossible, if you care enough, try your best and refuse to let your own self-doubt get in the way, you’re going to succeed. I can now confidently go to a peatbog and ID most of the plant species surrounding me. It’s small things like this, which I sometimes forget about when I doubt my abilities. When I take a step back, I realise just how far I’ve come. None of this would have been possible if it wasn’t for my apprenticeship. I would still be stuck in a job, I didn’t want, working all hours, feeling unfulfilled.”

person standing amongst vegetation holding a plastic trug and gardening tools — (Linney)

After her apprenticeship, Jade accepted a job working on a river restoration project for one of the UK’s biggest conservation charities. Jade believed that she wouldn’t have secured the role if it were not for the experience in conservation that she gained through the project.

Project participant James Stubbs (26), who became involved in the One Planet Pioneers project in Middlesbrough when he was 19, said:

“The project gave me a chance to start a career in a sector that I had always been passionate about. Having spent 19 of 24 months unemployed since leaving college, jumping from job to job, this is something that I never thought would have happened.

“The project opened my eyes massively to the environment around me and what I could do/help others do that would make it a better place for wildlife and people.”

Key learnings for employability

Our Bright Future projects have equipped young people with a range of skills, knowledge, and environmental awareness. These skills have often supported them to take the next step in their lives, be that into further training, volunteering, or employment.

As a key theme across the programme, enhancing self-confidence as an initial step has been central to enabling young people to progress towards employability and skills outcomes.

The youth-led, individually tailored and flexible approach of Our Bright Future has supported young people to attain a variety of skills which have improved their employability.

The environmental focus has supported young people to consider and gain environmental employment and social action opportunities, as well as to apply environmental knowledge in roles outside of the sector.

These findings are particularly relevant considering the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic on the current generation of young people, and their education and employment prospects. Activities such as those provided by Our Bright Future offer a valuable investment opportunity to tackle challenges experienced by young people.

https://ourbrightfuture.co.uk/

Updated information October 2023:

The Our Bright Future evaluation and learning reports can all be accessed at https://www.ourbrightfuture.co.uk/our-impact/