Why resilience may be the missing ingredient in Britain’s youth employment debate
By Paul Cadman, Chairman, Birmingham Youth Sports Academy (BYSA)
Spend any time listening to the national conversation about young people and a handful of words dominate the discussion. Anxiety. Loneliness. Isolation. Wellbeing. Mental health.
These are important issues and nobody should dismiss them. Young people today face genuine pressures, from the cost of living and housing affordability to social media, economic uncertainty and an increasingly competitive jobs market. But as I listen to politicians, policymakers, employers and commentators discuss the future of our young people, I cannot help but feel that another word is increasingly absent from the conversation: resilience.
As Chairman of Birmingham Youth Sports Academy, I have the privilege of working alongside young people from a wide range of backgrounds. Some arrive full of confidence. Others arrive carrying doubts about their future. Some face challenges at school, at home or within their communities. Yet what never ceases to amaze me is that, when given the right environment, young people are capable of far more than they often believe themselves.
That is why I worry that the national debate has become too focused on vulnerability and not focused enough on preparation.
Life has never been easy. Work has never been easy. Every generation has faced challenges. Previous generations experienced recessions, industrial decline and high levels of unemployment. Today’s young people face different pressures, but the need to develop confidence, adaptability, perseverance and self-belief remains exactly the same.
The answer cannot simply be to identify the challenges. We must also equip young people with the tools to overcome them.
At Birmingham Youth Sports Academy, we do not simply coach sport. We build character.
We do not lower expectations; we raise standards. We push young people physically because physical challenge develops mental strength. We encourage discipline because discipline creates habits that last a lifetime. We provide mentoring because positive role models matter. We create an environment where effort is expected, accountability is encouraged and resilience is developed.
The reality is that every young person will experience setbacks. They will encounter rejection. They will make mistakes. They will face disappointment. Things will not always go according to plan.
Our responsibility is not to shield them from every obstacle. Our responsibility is to prepare them to overcome those obstacles when they arrive.
Too often society appears focused on protecting young people from challenge rather than preparing them for it. In our understandable desire to support young people, there is a danger we overlook one of life’s most valuable lessons: adversity, when approached in the right way, can be one of our greatest teachers.
Resilience is not about being hard-hearted. It is not about ignoring mental health. It is not about pretending problems do not exist.
It is about developing the confidence, discipline and self-belief to face those problems and find a way through them.
At BYSA, we see that transformation every day. We see young footballers miss important penalties and return the following week determined to improve. We see young athletes pushed to their limits and discover they are capable of more than they thought. We see young people learn how to lose with dignity, win with humility and work as part of a team.
They learn accountability. They learn perseverance. They learn discipline. They learn respect. They learn leadership.
Most importantly, they learn that failure is not the end of the journey. More often than not, it is the beginning of growth.
These are lessons that cannot always be found in a classroom. They are learned through experience.
That is why I believe employers should increasingly focus on the whole person when recruiting young people. Qualifications matter, but character matters too.
When businesses talk about skills shortages and workplace readiness, perhaps the questions should extend beyond exam results and certificates.
Has this young person committed themselves to a sports team? Have they been part of the cadets? Have they volunteered in their community? Have they shown commitment to something bigger than themselves? Have they demonstrated resilience when things became difficult? Have they learned how to work in a team, follow instructions and support others?
The answers to those questions often reveal qualities that employers consistently tell us they value: reliability, adaptability, leadership, communication and determination.
A young person who has spent years playing football, rugby, cricket, athletics or netball understands teamwork and discipline. They understand responsibility to teammates. They understand performance under pressure. They understand that success requires commitment and that setbacks are part of the process.
Likewise, young people who have participated in the Army Cadets, Sea Cadets, Air Cadets or Combined Cadet Force often develop leadership skills, self-discipline, confidence and personal responsibility long before they enter the workplace. Those who volunteer within their communities learn service, accountability and commitment. These experiences shape character. They help prepare young people not just for employment, but for life itself.
Perhaps this is where the national conversation needs to evolve.
Rather than viewing young people primarily through the lens of the challenges they face, perhaps we should spend more time discussing how we build confident, capable and resilient individuals.
That responsibility belongs to all of us.
Families have a role.
Schools have a role.
Sports clubs have a role.
Community organisations have a role.
Employers have a role.
Young people need support, but they also need challenge. They need encouragement, but they also need expectations. They need understanding, but they also need accountability.
The most successful people I have met in business, sport and public life have rarely been those who avoided adversity. More often, they are those who learned how to overcome it.
Mental health matters and should continue to matter.
But resilience matters too.
The two are not competing ideas. In many respects they complement one another. Confidence, purpose, structure, belonging, physical activity and achievement all contribute to positive wellbeing. Supporting mental health and building resilience should be seen as two sides of the same coin.
At Birmingham Youth Sports Academy, this is exactly what we strive to develop every day.
We are building fit young people. We are building disciplined young people. We are building resilient young people.
Young people who understand that success requires effort. Young people who understand that setbacks are temporary. Young people who understand that every problem has a solution if you are prepared to work hard enough to find it.
Because ultimately, our role is not to prepare the road for the child.
It is to prepare the child for the road.
