Young woman with long dark hair sitting at a table during a meeting or discussion, with glasses and a water bottle in front of her, in a room with blue and white walls.
Three gold-colored star-shaped decorations with rounded edges on a black background.

Young Consultants

Young Consultants are a crucial part of Sheffield Futures’ engagement with issues that affect young people in Sheffield.

We’re a diverse group of trained professionals aged 16-25 with different motivations, career ambitions and interests, but we all share a passion for social justice.

Drawing on our varied life, academic and professional experiences, we represent the diversity of Sheffield’s young people and their voices. 

  • Group of young people sitting in a waiting area of a community youth services center, with one person wearing a hoodie with 'Community Youth Services' logo on the back, listening to a person speaking at the front.
  • A group of young adults sitting close together, engaged in a conversation or listening to someone, in an indoor setting.
  • Five young people gathered around a laptop at a wooden conference table, looking at the screen and smiling, in a room with large windows and papers on the table.
  • A group of young women sitting at a table, engaged in conversation or a discussion, some taking notes. The women are wearing glasses and casual clothing.
  • Group of young women gathered around a table playing a card game with cards and game pieces.
  • Four young adults gathered around a laptop in a conference room, looking at the screen with interest. There are documents and a smartphone on the table, and a whiteboard on a stand is visible in the background. Large windows reveal a construction crane outside.
  • Group of people gathered around a table playing a card game, with a man explaining. There are six women and one man, and the setting appears to be a casual indoor space, possibly a community center or office meeting room.
A woman with long black hair sitting and smiling during a group activity, with two people partially visible in the foreground, one holding a red flag, in a white room.
A light bulb inside a speech bubble, symbolizing an idea or innovation.

How does it work?

As Young Consultants, our unique input ensures that youth perspectives are at the forefront of decisions made to benefit young people.

We collaborate with, and influence those who are developing services and spaces for young people, as well as ensuring that young people have a voice on issues that are pertinent to them.

We do this by:

  • Youth-proofing documents and policies for use with young people

  • Delivering training to professionals working with young people

  • Participating in presentations, discussions and panel debates

  • Joining interview panels (as we do for Sheffield Futures)

  • Creating and producing youth-led projects

Get in touch with us for more about bringing our Young Consultants into your organisation.

Get in touch

Don’t just take our word for it!

“I have worked with a number of the Young Advisors. We have worked on rewriting and delivering the communication course programmes and developing an online version. Each Young Advisor brought a unique insight to the topic and used their life experience in writing and developing the course. I have often been challenged to look at things from a different perspective and have really valued working as part of a team with these young people. I feel I am more aware in my life about the impact of services on young people in Sheffield.”
— Siobhan Breithuin, Training and Development Consultant, Sheffield City Council
A person taking notes at a conference table with laptops, glasses of water, and a pen, in a meeting room.
“The Young Advisors had a really fruitful discussion on our proposed topic and shared their experiences very articulately. They provided thoughtful reflections on their experiences and provided helpful and logical suggestions about what would improve their experience, which will feed into action planning to make improvements to our service users’ experiences.”
— Aisling Redmond, Senior Patient Experience Facilitator, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals
A girl with long brown hair, wearing a red jacket with white polka dots, sits on a purple couch with a yellow pillow in a cozy room. She is holding a framed photo of a dog. There is a ginger cat lying on her lap. A wooden shelf above her holds potted plants, a framed photo of three people, and colorful books. String lights are hanging in the background.
Black and white illustration of a question mark with a hand-drawn style.

If you’d like to speak about how we could work with you, we’d love to hear from you!

Depending on the nature and duration of the work, we may ask you to consider making a donation to Sheffield Futures to support our ongoing development.

Get in touch