Your Youth Co-operative Action programme helps young people to become an outstanding leaders, develop new skills, and take their CVs to a whole new level.

What is YCA?

This isn’t just a programme where young people ‘learn some new stuff’ - this is about empowerment. Their experience, views and perspectives make them the experts and this journey is about creating a platform for them to make a real impact. During the programme participants:

• Realise their leadership potential
• Develop entrepreneurial skills and start projects and enterprises that will benefit their community, with the opportunity to use digital skills and channels like podcasting, filming and more!
• Explore co-operative values, including why they matter and how they can apply them to their life, career and community.
• Create, campaign, collaborate and connect with a range of people and professionals who can help them to tackle the issues that matter to them.

YCA in action

One of the best parts of Youth Co-operative Action is that each group of learners gets to discuss what issues are impacting them and their communities - and then they get to do something about it! So far, the issues tackled by YCA cohorts include youth loneliness, the environment, poverty, homelessness and crime. Have a look at a some of the previous YCA Greater Manchester projects:

Youth loneliness

Child poverty

If you would like to speak to us about our youth empowerment work email [email protected] 

This project has been made possible thanks to the support of the #iwill Fund and Co-op Foundation