Lucozade and Apprentice Nation Join Forces to Inspire Youth and Unlock Potential

Iconic British soft drink brand, Lucozade is thrilled to announce a new multi-year partnership with Apprentice Nation (@AppNationUK), the youth development platform @LucozadeEnergy @LucozadeSport.

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The Apprentice Nation platform, that uses music to inspire and engage with young people to get career ready and build core skills for work and life, has reached millions of young people providing them with the tools they need to succeed. 

However, recent research shows that the rate of inactivity amongst young adults is almost at an all-time high and unemployment is significantly greater for young people (13.1%) compared to the whole population (4.7%).* Furthermore, a separate study shows that people from  underrepresented minority ethnic communities are more than twice as likely to be unemployed**. Lucozade, working with Apprentice Nation and lead partner BT, is hoping to play a role in tackling these issues in a way young people find meaningful and accessible.

Lucozade will use its powerful brand recognition and scale to recruit participants and drive awareness of the work with Apprentice Nation across the UK and Ireland, highlighting how any young people can get involved  to help unlock their potential. Lucozade is aiming to help 16-24 year olds find their confidence through the power of music by collaborating with Apprentice Nation on a series of webinars and on demand content, featuring artists from an upcoming concert, as well as offering life and work skills, tips and tricks through its one of a kind edu-tainment platform As part of this, Lucozade will specifically take charge of a new, co-created educational pillar to set young adults up for success called Unlock Your Potential. The free-to-access content will help youth to harness the power of self-belief and develop a growth mindset, inspiring the future leaders of tomorrow to act.

As well as boosting young people’s sense of purpose, Lucozade and Apprentice Nation believe the initiative will give 16-24 year olds the opportunity to build their confidence and deal with complex issues like grief and loneliness as well as understand topics such as wellbeing and emotional intelligence.

Employees across the brand’s business will also support the Apprentice Nation mentor programme by advising and showcasing the career opportunities available to young adults in the FMCG sector which they may have not have otherwise considered. 

The partnership also supports the company’s wider “Growing for Good” vision which aims to invest in communities as part of its Giving Back to Society values. For the past 3 years Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I, owners of Lucozade has run B Active, a peer-to-peer sports-for-development programme in association with Active Communities Network. Since 2018, the initiative has assisted young adults living in some of the UK’s most deprived communities in London, Manchester, Belfast, Hull and Newport. 

More than 10,000 young adults participated in B Active across some of the most deprived areas in the UK with almost 4000 taking up opportunities to volunteer and over 700 gained vocational qualifications. RockCorps, producers of Apprentice Nation, will separately run a Coach for Coaches mentorship scheme for future sports coaches as part of the ‘B Active’ programme. 

Matt Riches, Strategic Partnerships Lead, SBF GB&I comments: 

“Lucozade will be leveraging its scale and reach to drive awareness of Apprentice Nation and the Unlocking Your Potential curriculum with a high-profile multi-media campaign launching this autumn.

Our Suntory-inspired ‘Growing for Good’ vision drives the company, and our brands like Lucozade forward to create purposeful collaborations in an authentic way. While potential is universal, opportunity isn’t and so through this partnership with Apprentice Nation we will highlight career opportunities and provide meaningful training for young adults from underrepresented communities”. 

Stephen Greene CBE, CEO RockCorps & Producer of Apprentice Nation adds:

‘We are beyond delighted to be linking up with Lucozade and welcome them into the Apprentice Nation family.  This partnership allows for an entirely new strand of curriculum – and Lucozade is well placed to unlock potential. Lucozade is one of the most loved British brands and we are proud to be working with them on our aligned mission to inspire the next generation and help them to shape their future.’

Marc Allera, CEO of BT’s Consumer brands, said:

‘We’re excited to welcome Lucozade to the Apprentice Nation family ahead of what is set to be another epic season. We’re looking forward to working together, with new and powerful content that helps to raise awareness of apprenticeships among 16-24 year olds from a variety of socio-economic backgrounds.’

Previous Apprentice Nation shows have engaged thousands of young adults from across the UK and supported them to build skills for work and life. Supported by BT and produced by RockCorps and Multiverse, the platform aims to highlight alternatives to university, such as apprenticeships, that young people might not have otherwise considered. 85% of Apprentice Nation participants to date have gained at least one new work-ready skill and 75% reported an increase in confidence for themselves and their future.