Nicky Twemlow – YMCA North Staffordshire Chief Executive
Growing up in Stoke-on-Trent, I never imagined I would one day lead a major charity, work alongside national organisations, or help shape conversations about the future of our city. Like many young people, my world was largely defined by what I could see around me. What changed everything for me were opportunities — small moments that opened up a much bigger world.
I still remember visiting Parliament as a young person with Joan Walley and later spending a weekend at Keele University through an initiative with Haywood High School to promote higher education. For some people, those experiences might seem ordinary. For me, they were transformational. They showed me that there were places, careers, and possibilities beyond what I had previously known. They gave me confidence, aspiration, and belief that my voice mattered.
That is why opportunities for young people matter so much.
Today’s young people are growing up in a very different world. Through social media and the internet, they can see every opportunity available globally. They can watch people travelling, building businesses, creating music, leading campaigns, and living lives that may feel completely out of reach. Yet despite having the world at their fingertips online, many young people still face significant barriers in the real world because of where they live, their financial circumstances, or the opportunities available locally.
Over the past decade, youth services across the UK have experienced significant reductions in funding, and Stoke-on-Trent has not been immune from this. Nationally, spending on youth services has fallen dramatically since 2010, resulting in fewer universal youth spaces, activities, and trusted adults available to support young people. At the same time, we are seeing rising concerns around mental health, isolation, confidence, and future prospects.
And yet, despite these challenges, there is hope.
Across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire, countless organisations, youth workers, volunteers, schools, charities, and community groups are stepping forward every day to fill those gaps. The work happening locally is inspiring. Organisations including the Stoke-on-Trent Youth Collective, Scouts, PICL, Ulysses Youth, Spark Group, YMCA North Staffordshire, and many others are creating safe spaces, activities, mentoring, leadership opportunities, and routes into employment and volunteering.
Importantly, the Local Youth Transformation Pilot is beginning to provide much-needed infrastructure and investment to help strengthen and connect this work across the city. There is growing recognition that supporting young people is not the responsibility of one organisation alone — it requires a collective effort.
Initiatives such as the Future Ready Pledge with Staffordshire Chambers of Commerce are also helping to connect businesses and employers with young people, opening up opportunities for work experience, mentoring, employment, and skills development. Alongside this, the recruitment of 20 young people aged 14–24 to actively contribute to place-making and decision-making is an important step forward. Young people should not simply be consulted occasionally; they should help shape the future of the places they live.
The reality is that young people do not know what they do not know. If no one opens doors for them, introduces them to new environments, nurtures their wellbeing, or helps them build networks and confidence, some may never get the chance to fulfil their potential.
Every young person deserves opportunities to discover who they could become. Sometimes, all it takes is one experience, one conversation, or one opportunity to change the direction of a life.