The current cost of living crisis has left some young people unmotivated and made them feel like they cannot see a future for themselves. Today in his London home, Jack Parsons met with Jeff Dodds as they discussed how they can help young people find the motivation to flip the duvet every morning.
Jeff, who started out as a construction worker whilst he was a student, currently holds the role of COO at Virgin Media O2, which is one of the largest broadband and mobile connectivity providers in the UK. He credits his success to not overthinking things by doing what’s right in the moment and not second guessing his own ability. He encourages young people to find the small victories in everything and take every opportunity that comes their way in the moment.
Meanwhile, Jack Parsons set up Youth Group at the end of 2019, with the sole aim of helping to get young people into work. What started out as just a few small Facebook groups has blossomed into the UK’s largest community of young people, growing to have over 1.7 million members. Still aged just 27, Jack is a young CEO making a real difference in the lives of young people across the country.
Youth Group helps young people in a number of different ways, including through providing mentoring sessions and equipping young people with the skills they need to get a job. Mentors from Youth Group have so far held over 22,000 mentoring sessions, providing a young person with a valuable connection in an industry of their choice. This is so important in giving a young person a real model to look up to as they start their career. Youth Group also has a 24 hour intervention program that can help a young person get a job when they are in desperate need. In these ways and many others, Youth Group has put 95,000 young people into work, helping and inspiring thousands more.
It’s so good to see two influential figures get together to see what they can do to inspire young people into developing as leaders for the future..
For more information about how Jack and Youth Group are working to build a better future for young people, check out Youth Group’s website. Find out about the wide range of opportunities available at Virgin Media O2 on their career’s site.
ABOUT – Jack Parsons
Jack is an award-winning young entrepreneur, known as the UK’s Chief Youth Officer. Following his own challenges entering into the workplace, Jack started Youth Group to support disadvantaged young people achieve their own success and generate opportunities in the world of work.
Social media channels – https://linktr.ee/JackRParsons
