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Metro Mayors Youth Impact

Metro Mayor with Youth Advisory group

Make an impact on your City Region

The Mayor’s Youth Impact is a group of individual young people and youth organisations, established in 2020.  It offers young people a vital platform to have their say on the big decisions that the Mayor and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority take in vital areas such as transport, economic development, housing, job and skill development, the environment, digital connectivity, and culture.

Once you sign up, you’ll hear from us about how you can get involved.  You can participate in all sorts of different ways, from taking part in online discussion groups to voting in a quick poll about an issue you’re passionate about.

What’s more, Youth Impact is part of Be More, the city region’s new all-in-one training and careers portal, so you’ll have access to all the latest skills and career development opportunities.

So if you live in Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens or Wirral, and are either aged between 13 and 18 (or 13 and 25 if you have special educational needs and/or a disability) or represent a youth organisation that works with young people in these age groups, then we want you on our team!

A message from the Mayor

“Too often young people are excluded from the debate when politicians are making decisions. Yet, it’s the youth that has to live with the consequences of those choices the longest. As Metro Mayor I want to do things differently and ensure that the voices of young people are heard loud and clear when it comes to shaping the future of our region. That’s what the Metro Mayor’s Youth Impact is all about.

The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and I have powers over key areas including transport, economic development, housing, jobs and skills, the environment, digital connectivity and culture.

We develop policies and make important decisions on all of these key issues and more. By joining Youth Impact, you can influence the big decisions that matter – whether that’s how local buses operate in the future or how I, as Metro Mayor, can help our local town centres to thrive.”

Steve Rotheram

Mayor of the Liverpool City Region

 

 

 

Involvement of the group

Youth Impact was formed when Steve Rotheram said that he was keen to hear the opinions of the youth in the city region, and give them the opportunity to have their voices heard at the most direct level possible. He wanted young people to be involved in major decision-making processes, which ordinarily is carried out by adults – however, these decisions have a significant impact on young people now and in the future. The group was launched virtually during the Coronavirus crisis, giving almost 200 young people the chance to ask Steve Rotheram questions directly.

Fair Employment Charter

Young people may be treated unfairly by employers due to lack of experience. As a result, they can sometimes face less favourable working hours, conditions and workloads than their older work colleagues.

We asked Elevate – an organisation that works with schools and businesses – to help improve the youth’s readiness for work. They have extensive knowledge of ‘what makes a fair employer’ as they arrange work experience and work placements for students.

They interviewed young people, and asked them about their experiences when they were on their work placements. The results gathered will influence future policies of the Fair Employment Charter.

Communications with Young People

Strong communication plays an integral role in helping us make a difference together. To enable us to converse more effectively with young people, we held a workshop asking how we could best reach them. This proved to be very useful and informative. It indicated the most accessible methods in order to become more connected. And now, we’re working hard to put those suggestions into action.

Liverpool: A Child Friendly City

Liverpool City Council is bidding to become a UNICEF Child Friendly City – the outcome will improve the city on a number of levels for children and young people. However, we can’t just assume that we know what makes a place better for a child to live in. Therefore, we held a focus group with 11 young people aged 13-18yrs, and asked questions about health, feelings of involvement, safety, children’s rights etc. The results were welcomed by the council and will be included in future planning.

Spatial development strategy/town centre planning consultation with young people

Spatial development is about planning your town for the future – would you like to see more green spaces? Improved safety in your area? More affordable housing? Better transport links?

20 young people joined the expert town planners at a consultation event, and within their groups, they discussed the various issues and shared opinions and recommendations for the future.

Youth Employment task force

COVID-19 has presented a wealth of challenges for everyone, but one of the biggest concerns of the youth is their employment prospects. The Metro Mayor aims to prioritise and improve opportunities for young people in our region, so back in July, we set up a Youth Employment task force to discover what is needed to enhance their employability skills.

One part of the plan involves setting up youth employment hubs in town centres in our area and also online. Young people in the group helped to develop a survey to ask others what services should feature in the new hubs. The feedback received influenced the plan, and the first hub was launched in December 2020.

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