This month, our Adviser for South Wales, Matthew Knight, joins up with Fran Dainty, our Adviser for North Wales to introduce the Youth Achievement Awards to our Welsh CAPs.

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It began with three faces on a screen.

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Fran was dialling in from the North, I was logged on from the South, and Laura from Youth Cymru was about to show us something that would change how we talk about our work.

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By the end, neither of us could stop grinning.

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A story every young person already has

Laura helped us see something simple. Young people across Wales are already doing remarkable things. They turn up to youth club every week, help out at community events, and step in when a younger kid needs a hand.

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And for most of them, none of it ever gets recognised.

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The Youth Achievement Awards change that. They turn what young people already do into a real, accredited qualification, something they can hold up to a college, an employer or a parent and say: I did this.

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The idea is beautifully simple: Plan, Do, Review. The young person chooses a challenge, sets their own targets, gets stuck in, then looks back at what they've learned. Nobody tells them what to care about. They decide.

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Where we come in

This is the part that got us most excited.

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CAP already create those moments: diversionary activities, awareness sessions, volunteering and events that pull communities together. Now we can bring the tools, support and framework to turn those moments into genuine opportunities.

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Imagine teenagers in Wrexham planning and running their own alcohol awareness event. Over in Denbighshire, young people could design a campaign for local shops, then present it to the very retailers they're trying to reach. In Ebbw Vale, a group might launch their own podcast, finding their voices and sharing them with their community. Down in Pontypridd, young people could be learning to become baristas, gaining real skills behind the counter and the confidence that comes with them. And somewhere, a quiet fourteen-year-old ends up leading a session for younger peers and discovers something about herself she never knew was there.

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Every one of those could be a challenge, and every one could end with a certificate and a young person standing a little taller.

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This isn't something bolted onto our work: it fits right inside it.

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Just the beginning

Our existing CAPs across Wales, including Pontypridd, Ebbw Vale, Wrexham and Denbighshire, will be among the first to explore what this can look like, with more partnerships on the horizon. As Fran carries this into conversations across the North and I do the same in the South, we'll be bringing something genuinely new to the table.

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Somewhere in Wales right now is a young person who doesn't yet know they're about to organise their first event, lead their first group or earn their first qualification.

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We can't wait to meet them.

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Part of a CAP in Wales and curious what the Youth Achievement Awards could mean for your young people? Get in touch with me in the South or Fran in the North. We'd love to start that story with you.