Connected Conversations: Opportunity Creation in Cumbria

Free, facilitated 90-minute walks bringing local civic folks together to share perspectives that create places where young people can thrive Our Opportunity Creation walk offers you an opportunity to think out-loud in the company of senior allies from the local authority, NHS, education, policing, local businesses & community groups. Our Opportunity Creation walk goes upstream of skills and jobs to explore the conditions for life-long earning & learning. How we create the ground for sustainable and fulfilling work opportunities to grow and to develop local talent. Because opportunity cannot be delivered by any one organisation. It requires strong relationships and open discussions across sectors and organisations for the creation of the right soil conditions needed for good opportunities to emerge. For every young person should be able to see a positive future and access the relationships, support and opportunities to move towards it. Yet the journey between education, training and work can be difficult to navigate, particularly when health, financial pressures, caring responsibilities, disability or rural transport create additional barriers. Opportunity Creation looks beyond individual courses or jobs towards places where people can keep learning, earning and developing throughout their lives. For this walk, we’ll focus on young people aged 16–21 and the pathways that help them thrive. Drawing on the experiences and perspectives within the group, we’ll explore what young people are encountering, where opportunities and support connect - or fall apart - and what we could do together to make a difference. Our walk offers no hierarchies, no job titles, no performance pressure – just space to chat openly about what you’re noticing and what’s really happening in this sphere. Who should come along? People whose work or lived experience connects with young people’s futures, including: • Schools, colleges, careers services, apprenticeship and training providers. • Employers, business networks and organisations offering work experience and routes into employment. • Council colleagues working in education, skills, economic development, transport and youth services. • Health and wellbeing services, Jobcentre Plus, youth organisations and community groups. • Young people aged 16–21 and people with experience of navigating education, training and work. The walks are hosted by experienced facilitators Jane Fisher and Steve Shepherd who encourage different perspectives and hold a space to sit with the uncertainty of these complex challenges, allowing a fuller understanding to develop. Be prepared to come away with fresh perspectives, new allies and ideas to inform your work. Because all of us are smarter than any one of us…