Building bridges, building futures
Kevin Rodgers knows what it feels like to navigate uncertainty and rebuild. Before launching Spark, he stepped away from a long-term career and set out to create something different for young people facing barriers to opportunity. “Our first year was a baptism of fire,” he says. “There were so many things that you thought you knew that you didn’t know.”
What he did know was the power of connection – Kevin had spent years as operations manager for the north of England at the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and used that experience when he set up Spark, an empowerment programme for young adults. Now, it’s a multi-award winning charity and operates as both the Wirral Youth Employment Hub and the Youth Enterprise Hub across the Liverpool City Region.
Spark works with young adults aged 16 to 30 who are, as Kevin puts it, “at a crossroads of uncertainty”. The upper age limit matters, as “a lot of programmes stop at 25,” he says. “That’s often where people are vulnerable still, because support drops away.” Spark's job is to be there when other provision has moved on.
The work is rooted in personal development as much as employment or enterprise. Some young people arrive with degrees but lack the GCSE Maths or English that gets them past an initial job sift. Others simply don’t know what their options are. “They’re faced with institutional barriers that we have to overcome,” says Kevin. His answer is to build bridges: between community organisations, corporate partners and, above all, young people themselves.
In practice, that means CV support, job search help, mock interviews and a business boot camp for those with entrepreneurial ambitions. It also means a pantry stocked with food staples and hygiene products, loanable laptops and SIM cards with free data, and a reception where you’re greeted by a young person, offered a drink and walked to wherever you need to be. “What we’re creating here is a safe, inclusive space for every individual,” he says.
The corporate partnerships have grown steadily and organically. Cisco, Intact Insurance, NatWest, Peel Ports and Cammell Laird are all involved now. Cammell Laird opened its doors to four young people for a six-month paid placement; Intact took on four more to work on their archives. What distinguishes these arrangements is the way Spark approaches eligibility.
“We prioritise young people who may face additional barriers to employment, education or training,” explains Kevin. “Our focus is on opening doors and creating opportunities for those who are often overlooked by more traditional pathways.” Many of the young people who take up placements with partner organisations complete their Maths and English qualifications alongside them, driven by a genuine sense of purpose and progression.
Young people also shape how Spark operates, through Sparklings, which gives its youth a voice. “They’re on interview panels and they’re in discussions. If we go to corporate events, one of them comes with us.” Kevin’s logic is straightforward: “Why speak on behalf of a young person when there’s young people willing to speak for themselves?”
That ethos shows up in how the charity frames its support. “Our motto is, ‘we’ll do it with you’ – we’re not going to do it for you… because we don’t have capacity and that makes people reliant, rather than empowered.”
The results speak for themselves. In Spark’s first year in its new home, over 7,000 young people came through the door. Currently, there are around 500 members being supported. And Kevin is proud of the fact that 52% of all those who’ve engaged have gone on to a “chosen positive destination – whether it be education, employment, training, or business startup.”
The impact is clearest in the voices of the young people themselves. Harvey, one of Spark’s members, puts it simply: “Before I came here I was isolated and didn’t go outside much – I felt down most days. Coming here, I realised that I do have potential and I can do stuff and accomplish things and make friends. It’s probably the best thing that’s happened to me and I feel like a different person. I’m actually looking forward to getting a job instead of being scared. I’m excited about what I can do in the future.”
Myles, who is heading to university to study law, is equally clear-eyed about what Spark gave him: “I’m most looking forward to seeing what new skills my new perspectives develop, from my role here and seeing how I grow and evolve in confidence, ability and competence.”
Kevin has described his vision as building an ecosystem: “You empower an ecosystem, because people remember that one time somebody invested in them. And then they reinvest and it becomes an ecosystem to empower the next generation.”
Kindred's investment helped Spark find its permanent home and take on the staff needed to meet demand it couldn’t previously keep up with. “If you want to work with Kindred and you’ve got any doubt, I would say ‘hear them out’,” he says. “At first I thought it sounded too good to be true, but it’s exactly what it said on the tin – the support you get, the opportunities that it’s provided, both in terms of personal growth and connecting – the opportunities to speak with other business leaders who are socially-trading organisations who either are at or have been where you are now. The transparency of that ecosystem is fundamental to our growth.”
There are now conversations about a potential second hub and representatives from across the UK visit to see how Spark’s model works. Kevin’s ambition has always been to do things differently: “That type of outside the box thinking was a risk for them, but I think we've got the balance right,” he smiles.