
BLOG: Looking back at this year’s Student Governor Destination Conference: London 25
Join us for a look back at our first ever Student Governor Destination Conference held in London at Burberry’s iconic London Headquarters!
What a year 2025 has been so far, and it just gets bigger and better – we are so excited to announce that we are expanding our wide range of specialist programmes, courses and events into the Leeds area this September just in time for the Autumn term!
We have long had our sights on bringing our innovative programmes to the Leeds city region, having delivered previous programmes and events there, we’ve seen that we can have a strong and positive impact on the region and make a lasting difference in the lives of the young people there, empowering and equipping them with the skills they need to thrive in a fast-changing world.
Our vision for Leeds is clear: to help young people build confidence, become young changemakers, develop entrepreneurial mindsets, and create a brighter future for themselves and their communities.
We believe that every young person has the potential to succeed, regardless of their background, and we work hard to level the playing field by connecting talent to opportunity, tackling inequalities, using their voice for the good of all, and promoting social justice.
Bringing our mindset, skills and knowledge to Leeds is an exciting new journey for us at Unloc, building upon our dedicated teams in London and Portsmouth, and widening our reach. Our facilitators will be based in Leeds City Centre, ensuring that our programmes are responsive to the local needs and aspirations of young people in the area.
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How will local people and industry be involved?
Firmly believing in the power of partnerships, we’ll work closely with local youth organisations, businesses, industry, and the local authority to ensure that programmes complement existing efforts in the community. We are already incredibly proud to be partnered with Burberry, based in the City Centre, and are also working with the Luminate Education Group, by collaborating with local partners we can amplify their impact and create a more supportive network for young people to grow and flourish.
Volunteers from local businesses will play an active role in our programme roll-out. These volunteers will bring real-world knowledge and expertise to Unloc’s initiatives, providing young people with valuable insights into the world of work, behind the scenes experience across a range of industries, and the ability to connect and communicate with professionals from a diverse range of backgrounds and careers.
What are our goals in Leeds?
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How we will achieve our vision in Leeds
We will be taking a multi-faceted approach to empower young people in Leeds, tailoring our programmes to the needs of the young people in the region, reaching all ages and levels of knowledge. This will involve a series of dynamic Changemaker Challenge Days for both Primary and Secondary Schools, Enterprise Events aimed at growing the mind of an entrepreneur, Changemaker Moments Events and Leadership Bootcamps.
Each event is focused on developing confidence, an entrepreneurial mindset, employability skills, incubating a ‘changemaker outlook’, and encouraging career aspirations. They’ll enjoy skills workshops, learn from professionals, engage with reverse-mentoring, develop core employability skills, network with local entrepreneurs and develop the mindset of a changemaker – recognising how to make positive change and effect impact in their communities and wider society.
These skills will help empower young people and connect diverse talent with industry, networking with professionals and career experts, and creating clear pathways to employment, entrepreneurship, and being an empowered changemaker.
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Unloc’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Hayden Taylor said:
“We could not be more excited to bring the Unloc method of creating, developing and empowering young changemakers to the Leeds area. We know from our previous events just how passionate and engaged young people in the region are, and we have heard from them directly on the issues they face and the changes that they want to see, and create in society.”
“At Unloc our speciality is not just equipping young people with a changemaker mindset, but also empowering them with the confidence, the skills and the tools to create the positive change they want to see. Not just see the change – be the change.“
“If you’re a business owner, a skilled professional or an entrepreneur in the Leeds area, and you’d like to be involved in inspiring future generations – then we would love to hear from you. Involving the industry, professionals and community of Leeds is so important to what we want to achieve. Whether you’re interested in sponsoring a programme, engaging young people with your business, being a guestspeaker, providing opportunities, or engaging with creating positive change in the community – we’d love to hear from you.”
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How can local businesses in Leeds get involved?
Unloc’s programmes and events offer businesses, industry, partners and entrepreneurs an opportunity to make a tangible, positive impact on the community while also reaping the benefits of increased visibility and engagement.
Sponsor an Unloc programme or event and become an active part in nurturing young talent and empowering young people. Your sponsorship helps Unloc to deliver their vision – offering young people exclusive opportunities and connections with industry which inspires and empowers them on their career path.
It also gives you the opportunity to engage your employees with a greater aim, share knowledge and experience, champion your brand, and raise awareness of your journey, what you do and what you stand for. The inspiration and motivation your knowledge and experience can provide to young people is invaluable.
Interested in sponsoring an Unloc programme or being involved?
Whilst we won’t be officially launching until the Autumn, we’re currently building out our strategy and roll-out. We firmly believe it’s those on-the-ground local stories and professionals that make all the difference, people that can talk face to face, answer questions, and share lived career experience.
If you’d like to get involved and do something inspiring for the generation of tomorrow, be a guest speaker, attend a session or sponsor a programme or event – we would love to hear from you. Together we can make a difference.
Email [email protected] for an initial conversation.
For more information on Unloc visit: unloc.org.uk
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