Create life-changing environmental opportunities for young people in Bristol and the West of England with the Youth Environmental Service

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Do you believe young people deserve paid, accessible, transformative opportunities to make a real difference? Are you passionate about wanting to welcome diverse young talent into your organisation, supporting them to build a better future for our planet?

We know that many young people are enthusiastic about working in green jobs, and yet are held back by a lack of awareness of the jobs available, lack of belief that they could do those jobs, and lack of opportunities to develop the practical skills needed. Young people from marginalised communities face additional barriers to accessing training and entry-level opportunities,1 and many struggle to see themselves represented in a sector where only 4.8% of environment professionals identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic, compared with a 12.6% average across all professions.2

That’s why the Youth Environmental Service (YES) wants to make sure every young person has the opportunity to do a year of paid environmental work. Through offering life-changing experiences for young people who are disadvantaged in the labour market we can build capacity in the environmental sector and make it more inclusive and diverse. YES is empowering organisations to create accessible, year-long, paid placements, and supporting passionate young people into them—helping them gain the skills, confidence, and connections to build impactful careers, all whilst helping to protect and restore our environment.

In 2023, YES piloted their vision through New to Nature, partnering with Groundwork UK, Mission Diverse, and Disability Rights UK to support nearly 100 young people in securing their first roles in the nature sector. Independent impact assessment of the New to Nature programme found that over 85% of these young people were from marginalised groups, and nearly all (91%) of them left with the skills and confidence to pursue environmental careers.3 Alongside this, over two-thirds of host organisations made commitments to change their employment practices to become more inclusive.

Building on this success, YES are launching a new programme in Bristol and the West of England in 2025, creating 40 new paid placements for young people, aged 18-25, to spend a year making a difference. Whether it’s retrofitting homes, restoring natural habitats, installing green energy, or growing food in harmony with nature. YES are looking for partner organisations who are passionate about investing in young people, to help bring these placements to life.

Before, during and after the programme, trainees and their employers are offered support to maximise the benefits from the placement. For organisations, they’ll be bringing fresh talent, perspectives and ideas, helping to strengthen their capacity, now and for the future. They’ll also have access to expert training sessions and opportunities to connect with other like-minded organisations, building knowledge and developing the tools needed to create a more inclusive, accessible, youth-forward organisation.

Alongside trainees’ on-the-job learning, they’ll have access to regular 1-2-1 sessions with a dedicated youth coach, a peer-support group of other trainees working in the region, and a learning programme aimed at building the soft skills they’ll need to thrive, in their role and looking ahead to their careers.

If creating these opportunities sounds like something your organisation would be interested in supporting, YES will be hosting an online information session in January where you can hear from organisations who’ve hosted placements previously, as well as young people who’ve taken part, sharing what they did and the impact it had. To find out more about how the programme will work, how you can get involved and to sign up for the information session, visit the Youth Environmental Service website.

YES are now accepting Expressions of Interest from eligible organisations in Bristol and the West of England. If your organisation would like to host one or more trainees, please complete a short form here. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and selected organisations will be invited to the second stage by the end of February.

Footnotes 

1: Youth in a Changing Climate - Groundwork UK

2: New research prompts initiative to accelerate diversity of environmental sector - News | SOS-UK

3: New to Nature 12 month impact report - Groundwork UK

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