The 31st of December is a natural time for reflection for many things. Today one of our ambassadors asked me what YEUK achievements I was most proud of this year and it called me to reflect on a year that has exceeded my expectations.
2014 has seen YEUK go from a small but ambitious organisation to a national campaign leader for all things youth employment. We have secured the support of the DWP, DfE and BIS, we have created new partnerships that have strengthened our organisation and we have developed an amazing ambassador programme with some of the brightest young people I have ever worked with leading the charge.
YEUK has hosted regional and parliamentary events; making sure that we keep youth unemployment high on the political agenda. We have provided a youth voice to the DFE consultation on careers education and the Education Select Committees review, we made the national press and TV, and we have made sure young people were ever present at the multitude of events we have attended this year.
YEUK has kept true to its values and its original mission, which is something I am deeply proud of, we will remain true to these as we move into 2015.
I think the highlight for me was the Youth Friendly Showcase held in November, this was a brilliant event where we were able to celebrate our fabulous ambassadors and Youth Friendly organisations.
I am really looking forward to 2015, if our ambition was big in 2014 it’s gigantic in 2015! There are some exciting changes ahead for YEUK as we come out of a consultation period with our ambassadors and members. So watch this space, as we launch our events calendar, reports and membership services, there has never been a better time to be part of our work and help us tackle youth unemployment.
YEUK’s 2014 achievements would not have been possible without our supporters, members and sponsors, our advisory board, ambassadors and Sylvia McLevy our very own wonder woman, thank you all!
I shall raise a toast to you all this evening as my family welcomes in 2015 and wish you all a very Happy New year!
LJ
