So the exams are done, you’ve got your results, and the whole world is your oyster.
But no matter how well results day goes, the question of ‘What’s next?!’ can feel like a daunting one, and the jump from education to the world of work often feels absolutely massive.
It’s why The Digital Youth Hub has been created – a completely free six-week course that will ease the transition, give you some seriously useful skills to move forward with, and put you to the front of interview queues.
Through workshops, masterclasses and skills sessions, you’ll learn how to create content, build a digital CV and find out about ways to access Greater Manchester’s booming creative jobs market.
You can get a taste for industries like marketing, photography, web development, social media management, copywriting, podcasting and discover the employment opportunities available for young people equipped with creative digital skills.
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Each member of The Digital Youth Hub will have access to one-to-one sessions with a talent manager too, to help plan their next career steps.
The scheme comes from SharpFutures and the DWP and has been created specifically for 18-24 year olds who live in Greater Manchester and aren’t in full-time work or studies.
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The Digital Youth Hub consists of 3 elements: a physical place (at leading digital hub The Sharp Project) to create content, a virtual space to learn and be inspired and an online platform to develop and explore digital skills as you’re learning.
The Sharp Project
The Sharp Project itself, in Newton Heath, is home to more than 60 digital entrepreneurs and production companies specialising in digital content production, digital media and TV and film production – one of which is SharpFutures.
Towards the end of the 6 weeks Digital Youth Hub members will be interviewed to join the SharpFutures POD scheme, which provides a talent pool of people who can be booked to assist on exciting projects with clients such as the BBC and Channel 4.
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The Digital Youth Hub states: “There are a huge amount of job opportunities out there for young people that can create content, do social media marketing and understand how businesses use digital so we’ve designed a programme to help develop these skills”
“Confidence in using programmes such as: Microsoft Office, Adobe Creative Suite, Canva and Google Docs puts you to the front of the interview queue. With additional knowledge and skills in social media management and content creation or project planning and budgeting again increasing your likelihood of employability.
“The Digital Youth Hub aims to give young people these digital life skills that will not only help them gain employment but make them a much more valuable staff member. Many of these skills are easily transferable so if they do change career paths or even decide to be their own boss, they are already a few steps ahead.”
Starting off life as a little coffee trike back in 2021, and now based inside a bright-yellow shipping container in Levenshulme‘s Cringle Park, Grounded MCR CIC is a social enterprise that does more than just make you a brew.
Set up with the idea of creating a welcoming space for the whole community to gather, with a key focus on sustainability, Grounded serves up specialty coffee, lots of other hot and cold drinks, and yummy homemade food – much of which is grown by hand, on and around the container.
This is Grounded MCR / Credit: The Manc Group
Coffee beans sourced from a local roaster that pays farmers properly, tasty bakes on offer from a handful of local makers – including bread from the incredible Stockport-based charity, Pure Innovations – and dozens of free community events organised throughout the year are just a few of the reasons why Grounded goes above and beyond your typical cafe.
Sustainability – and affordability, especially amid the ongoing cost of living crisis – are two huge driving factors for Grounded, especially through their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester and utilising the ‘Too Good To Go’ scheme.
By delivering and using surplus food that would’ve otherwise gone to waste, Grounded is able to keep their prices low whilst still creating some delicious scran.
The Levenshulme community cafe crafting coffee for a great cause / Credit: The Manc Group
Their ‘FareShare Fridays’ are hosted each week, where that morning’s delivery is dedicated to one specific dish and served up for just £1.
To top it all off, Grounded also works with vulnerable adults in honing their barista and hospitality skills, and is also in partnership with ‘Women in Probation’ too to ensure their impact goes further than just what comes in a cup or on a plate.
”We’ve worked hard to create a space that feels safe and welcoming for all,” Grounded declares in a statement on it’s website – and we think they’ve succeeded.
Sustainable clothing brand Lucy & Yak to host first-ever PreLoved Weekender in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Popular sustainable brand Lucy & Yak is set to host its first ever pre-loved clothing event this bank holiday weekend.
Lucy & Yak is turning its stores into dedicated PreLoved hubs for an entire weekend – celebrating second-hand shopping with communities across the UK.
Since 2023, Lucy & Yak – which is an independent, people-focused brand with all items made using organic, natural, recycled, or deadstock fabrics – has kept more than 42,000 items, also known affectionately as ‘Yaks’, in circulation through its PreLoved scheme, where customers bring in and return their old pieces, and once processed, will then receive a money-off voucher to put towards their next purchase.
Damaged pieces are repaired or upcycled by the Re:Yak Studio team in Yorkshire, before being sold on in-store to find their new homes.
While Lucy & Yak stores carry a dedicated PreLoved rail year-round, this late May bank holiday weekend from Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May, the whole Manchester store experience will be transformed – with a much larger, expanded PreLoved section.
There’ll be everything from old gems to one-off pieces available to get your hands on – all still wearable, all still loveable.
As well as here in Manchester city centre, the PreLoved Weekender will also be taking place at Lucy & Yak stores in Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Canterbury, Chester, Edinburgh, Exeter, London, Norwich, Nottingham, Sheffield, and Portsmouth, so no matter where you are in the country this bank holiday, you don’t have to miss out.
What’s more is that fashion lovers in Manchester will also get to take part in a series of upcycling workshops in store on Bank Holiday Monday, with more events planned in the coming weeks.
The brand says its stores are ‘more than just shops’ – they’re spaces for the community to connect, and where Lucy & Yak’s values come to life in person.
Lucy & Yak’s first-ever PreLoved Weekender is coming to Manchester this bank holiday / Credit: Supplied
“We’re so excited to bring the PreLoved Weekender to our stores this May,” commented Lydia Coley, who is the Managing Director at Lucy & Yak.
“Lucy & Yak has always been built around community, creativity, and doing things a little differently, and PreLoved brings all of that together. We’re incredibly proud of keeping over 42,000 Yaks in circulation. Every second-hand Yak has a story, and this weekend is about helping those pieces find their next home in a fun way.”
The PreLoved Weekender will be taking place at Lucy & Yak’s Manchester store in the Northern Quarter this Saturday 23 – Monday 25 May, and you can find out more here.
Daisy Jackson -
18th August 2022 
