Volunteering with Youth Employment UK is great for developing your skills and helping others! Meet our Youth Ambassador Amelia.
You can also read more Youth Ambassador stories, and volunteer as a Youth Ambassador if you live in the UK and you’re aged 16-24…
A bit about me…
I’m Amelia, I’m 21 years old and a third year Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Apprentice at CCEP Sidcup. I started my apprenticeship with CCEP in September 2018 and have loved it from the start! I am incredibly passionate about women in STEM and promoting how amazing apprenticeships are. Everyday I challenge gender stereotypes as being a female engineering apprentice (an aspiring engineer) by being a Youth Ambassador and a pioneer for promoting gender equality in male dominated environments. Supply Chain/Factories themselves are male dominated environments but then working within the STEM sector, there are even fewer women! It is my passion to one day make the industry equal for ALL.
What inspired me to join Youth Employment UK as a Youth Ambassador
When I first heard about the Youth Ambassador programme that Youth Employment UK runs and the amazing work the organisation does, I couldn’t help but sign up! Speaking for friends, family, colleges and peers is something that I’m passionate about and being a Youth Ambassador for youth voice would allow me to develop my personal/soft skills but to also drive change for our youth.
Many young people don’t all have the same opportunities as others, whether this be due to their age, background, gender, race, disability or location. I want to use my voice to improve the education and career opportunities that young people have so that we are equal in the way we approach the working world.
What opportunities and events I have been involved with so far
There have been so many opportunities through the Youth Ambassador Programme. In my first week as an ambassador, I was asked to speak on MoneyBox, a BBC Radio 4 show that was featuring an episode on apprenticeships and the different opportunities and training styles available. This being a topic that I’m passionate about, Alesha and the Youth Employment UK team reached out and asked if this would be something that I am interested in. Of course I said YES! Since then I have also participated in various Youth Voice Forums, roundtables, webinars and other events ranging in a variety of subjects and have been asked to be a guest speaker at the Youth Voice Forum for Apprenticeships.
How Volunteering as a Youth Ambassador has helped me
Many would say that volunteering to be a Youth Ambassador has allowed them to acquire, develop and refine their skills set which I hands-down agree with but personally for me, being a Youth Ambassador has opened my eyes to the struggles that young people face when it comes to education, training and employment. I never truly understood the challenges that young people face and how they have to adapt and overcome obstacles that others would breeze through. Learning from other ambassadors what hoops they have had to jump through just to get to where they are has meant that I can communicate to the company I work for to make the job application easier to understand, the interview procedure more youth friendly and the employment onboarding process less daunting.
The drive and passion that other Youth Ambassadors have continues to inspire me and I love working with them to come up with new suggestions or improvements that would support young people who we are the voice for.
Advice I would give to a young person who was unsure about joining the Youth Ambassador team
Join with an open mind and an appetite to change the world! Become a part of a family who will encourage you to speak-up for what you are passionate about and we will all support your ambitions.
Being a Youth Ambassador in just one sentence…
Making an impact to help young people now and in the future!
My plans for the future and how Youth Employment UK fits into this
In the future I want to support and mentor young people who want to find their dream career. Youth Employment UK has given me the necessary skills to do this.
Aged 16-24? Volunteer with us as a Youth Ambassador
Want to join our amazing team of Youth Ambassadors?
Volunteer with Youth Employment UK and you’ll gain so much more than something great to put on your CV. (You’ll get that too.)
Find out more about volunteering with us
