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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There was an excited buzz in the air recently as our annual Portsmouth Student Voice Celebration (USVC) Day for 2022 took place at the University of Portsmouth’s Portland Building. It’s a great opportunity each year for young people from across the area to come together and celebrate having a voice in society, and the impact and positive change that voice can create.
This year the institutions involved in this year’s Council of Portsmouth Students (CoPS) and Primary Council of Portsmouth Students (PCoPS) were invited to attend, along with Admiral Lord Nelson School, Ark Charter Academy, Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, Cottage Grove Primary School, Mayville High School, Miltoncross Academy, Priory School, St John’s College Secondary, The Portsmouth Academy, and Trafalgar School sending participants to the event!
Our Unloc Facilitator Jessi Wilson was kind enough to talk us through the day and explain all the fun and diverse opportunities the young people engaged with on the day.
“Each year we bring together so many young people from institutions across the city, and there’s always such an excited buzz in the air for this event. To kickstart the day this year, our Managing Director Hayden Taylor spoke about ‘Standing up for what you believe in’, which really got everyone ready for the day ahead.
This was followed by a speech from the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Hugh Mason.
“The world is changing fast, and it keeps on changing; the city is changing, and you are part of changing it – you are the people who choose the direction. I want to live in a vibrant city – you are the people to do it.”
Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Cllr Hugh Mason
The Vice-Chairperson of CoPS, Tegan, then read a statement from Luke, the Chairperson, and then her own speech, saying that “Student voice is so important to have within schools, allowing students to express their voice is so important to allow a positive atmosphere and can easily help to make easy but big improvements around our city and our schools.”
Lastly, we heard from Jack from Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School, who was invited to speak on behalf of Primary CoPS. Jack spoke about “when we work together our voices get stronger and louder and we have the power to make changes happen.”
Each group from PCoPS and CoPS gave a presentation – an opportunity for the groups to share their successes over the academic year! Read the USVC Day 2022: A Report/Summary for more details by clicking here.
It was brilliant to see a summary of all the amazing work each group has completed during our time together over the past 12 months, and to celebrate their successes! I am immensely proud of all of the CoPS and PCoPS students.
An ‘In Conversation With…’ segment, with the focus on ‘the importance of Student Voice’, had a panel made up of current MYPs Destiny Kenney and Ella Reilly, and member of the MYP Working Group (and CoPS Diversity and Inclusion Action Group Leader) Sakura, with questions facilitated by Joseph, who was on Work Experience at Unloc and had been a member of CoPS last year!
Portsmouth City Council ran several consultations throughout the day, providing the participants with the opportunity to give their thoughts and opinions on issues, policies and plans that are /or will affect where they live and study in the future. These sessions included:
‘Waste & Recycling in Portsmouth’
Led by Celine, the group were told about all the new initiatives that Portsmouth City Council have and are introducing in the city to make recycling and getting rid of household waste more accessible for residents.
‘Schools for Everyone’
A sesion led by Caiomhe and Amanda, which discussed ‘what do we do in schools already to make it inclusive?’, and ‘how do we become more inclusive?’. An important topic to make sure that inclusion and diversity is always a priority in schools.
’The Future of Portsmouth City Centre’
Led by Sara and Guy, this session was a great opportunity for the young people to learn about the improvements currently being made to Portsmouth and the future plans to redevelop the city centre and provide an exciting destination for residents and tourism alike.
‘Play & Youth Holiday Activities’ consultation
Attended by the PCoPS students and led by Marshada, Nicola and their team. The participants were asked to consider happy and positive memories they had and created graffiti tables. These were linked to what they like to do in holidays and what they were aware of as opportunities in Portsmouth, such as play areas and activities.
The CoPS students then attended one of three workshops available, based on the Action Group they had been involved in throughout the year:
‘An Introduction to Kooth’
Led by Alice, this was a very valuable session for the young people; they had an introduction to Kooth, a totally free online mental wellbeing community, and were given a guide on how to use the website and get support.
For more information on Kooth click here.
A Workshop led by Emily and colleagues from LGBTQ+ Team Portsmouth was also held for older students, where the session started with representatives introducing themselves and the service they provide from within Portsmouth City Council. For more information on the support they offer click here.
‘Team Wilder’
Led by Andy Ames from Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust – this session involved an open discussion with the whole group on how to connect people emotionally with nature and the wildlife around them.
For more information Team Wilder click here.
It has been a genuine pleasure to work with all of the students in CoPS and PCoPS this year! I am so looking forward to continuing to develop both forums and enhance students’ experience and journey within Student Voice in Portsmouth.”
To find out more about this year’s event, click here to read our 2022: A Report/Summary
It’s a New Year and a new look! Orange is the new black don’t you know! If you haven’t visited our website lately then you haven’t seen our new look, and all that unloc.org.uk now has to offer, with a range of extensive courses, programmes and day events created specifically for young people in schools, community groups and colleges.
Our look for 2022 may be shiny and new, but our educational offer is steadfastly tried and tested, with our expert facilitators providing the very best support to schools, colleges, and our dedicated Changemaker Studios spaces across the country.
If you’re an education professional seeking to deliver the very best for your students then Unloc is here to help. We are a not-for-profit organisation created by young people, for young people, and motivated by the desire to enable others to become changemakers.
We can organise courses around you and your schedule to help you meet your educational needs. Whether it’s Student Forums, Student Voice, Enterprise Courses, Community Programmes, or Social Awareness (to name but a few), we’ve developed engaging and inspiring events and programmes to ignite and inspire your young minds.
We also recognise that in an ever-changing environment due to Covid-19 and it’s variants, that planning ahead can be difficult, that’s why we’ve re-formed our programmes and courses to be available either in-person or digitally, ensuring that no matter the current rules and guidelines, we’re still able to deliver.
Our programmes and courses include
Take a look at the school and college courses we currently offer by clicking here.
How can we help?
To find out more about what we can offer to your school, college or organisation, get in touch by giving us a call for an informal chat on 02394 008 180.
Or click the ‘Get in touch’ button above. You can also fill out our simple to use webform by clicking here and we’ll come back to you.
There’s no commitment and we’re always happy to talk and see how we can help your young people get the very best out of their future.
We are thrilled to announce a very special new project in partnership with the Royal Yachting Association that will bring an absolute tidal wave of fun and opportunity to young people.
Get ready to lace up your trainers and join Unloc for an exciting day at the Great Manchester Run! We’re getting our steps in to help give young changemakers a step up, as we take on the Great Manchester Run Half Marathon!
Check our our latest blog on an amazing groups of young people, the Aldershot Army Welfare Service Youth Voice Ambassadors Group, who won the Group Achievement Award in the Hart Youth Achievement Awards 2025!
The Portsmouth Youth Cabinet’s End of Year Celebration was one to remember and an amazing way to end the 24/25 academic year!
We are thrilled to announce a very special new project in partnership with the Royal Yachting Association that will bring an absolute tidal wave of fun and opportunity to young people.
Get ready to lace up your trainers and join Unloc for an exciting day at the Great Manchester Run! We’re getting our steps in to help give young changemakers a step up, as we take on the Great Manchester Run Half Marathon!
Check our our latest blog on an amazing groups of young people, the Aldershot Army Welfare Service Youth Voice Ambassadors Group, who won the Group Achievement Award in the Hart Youth Achievement Awards 2025!
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