Create Your Future – a call to action for young people

Comms Kick on behalf of Great Place: Lakes and Dales

Great Place: Lakes and Dales, which is working to increase the number of under 35s choosing to live and work in the area, is helping young people develop their careers with its free resource Create Your Future.

The website and its related material were originally aimed at schools and young people leaving further and higher education but the digital resource is free to access for anyone. The organisation is encouraging young people whose normal education and employment has been impacted by Covid-19 to get involved with it. Said Lindsey Hebden, Programme Manager

“With research from Beetfreaks Youth Trends, who also conducted research for us in Year One, showing that 58% of young people have said Covid-19 has left them unsure about their futures and The Institute of Fiscal Studies reporting new graduates are likely to be the hardest hit by the coming recession, now, more than ever, it’s important that they have access to high-quality careers help.”

The Create Your Future resource was developed in the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District. It includes 14 case studies and films of people who have developed successful, creative and diverse careers in the region. Eight entrepreneurs feature including a film maker, an actor and a dancer as well as six young people who work for the Yorkshire Dales National Park, which is used as example of a rural organisation full of career opportunities.

Among their stories is that of Claire Calvert, who studied Art and Design but finished her education early when she became a young mum. She applied for the role of Planning Technician Apprentice with the Yorkshire Dales National Park saying

“I thought it was a fantastic opportunity to get back into education and further my career.”

She completed an NVQ in Business Administration and progressed into her current role as Planning Assistant. Also featured is Simon McElligott, Co-Founder of The Knotted Project Theatre Company who create physical theatre. The company are based in Kendal, Cumbria and regularly tour their work across the UK. Since the Covid19 pandemic the company has received Arts Council England Emergency Funding to sustain the business and create an online resource for children and their families.
The films will also be available on Great Place: Lakes and Dales new IGTV channel on Instagram with aims to increase awareness for the whole Create Your Future resource. To see it for yourself visit https://createyourfuture.me.uk

ends

Notes for editors
Research
Beetfreaks Youth Trends ‘Take the Temperature’ Report: https://www.beatfreeksyouthtrends.com/take-the-temperature


Images:
1. Claire Calvert (no credit)
2.Rachel Thornton Artist and Printmaker credit Stephen Garnett Photography (Rachel is a case study on Create Your Future)
2. The Knotted Project credit Robin Zahler (case study on Create Your Future)
3. Lindsey Hebden, Programme Manager, Great Place: Lakes and Dales credit Stephen Garnett Photography

For more information, images or to chat to the programme contact Chloe on 07969791338 or chloe@commskick.com

Great Place: Lakes and Dales
Great Place: Lakes and Dales is one of 16 pilot projects in England funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England and is focused on the rural corridor linking Skipton in the south and Grasmere in the north, including the market towns and rural hinterlands, extending into both the Yorkshire Dales and Lake District National Parks.

The programme is managed via the Consortium of Partnership Organisations, which is made up of additional funding partners including Craven District Council (lead authority), South Lakeland District Council, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and Lake District National Park Authority. A Creative Board, which includes additional cultural organisations oversees the strategic delivery.

The programme is funded from August 2017 – March 2021 and its main purpose is to understand the reasons for fewer 16 to 34-year olds than the national average living and working in the area and seek to address them, using arts, heritage and culture as the catalyst for economic, social and environmental change.

Create Your Future was created by Innovate Educate on behalf of Great Place: Lakes and Dales. Innovate Educate specialises in education research and creating education programmes for heritage venues, visitor attractions, schools, businesses and government departments. It was founded by Karen Merrifield in 2000 with the aim of providing a more creative approach to education and community links. Karen works as a Creative Business Consultant for the organisation.