Youth Employment UK Welcomes Four New Non-Executive Directors to its Board

Youth Employment UK has announced the appointment of four new Non-Executive Directors to its board: John Cope, Charlotte Bosworth, Jennifer Coupland, and Ciara O’Donnell. Their extensive expertise and commitment to tackling youth unemployment will play a crucial role in shaping the organisation’s work and driving its 2025-2030 strategy.

The appointment of these non-Executive Directors comes at a crucial time, as Youth Employment UK advances its 2025-2030 strategy to drive meaningful change for young people across the UK.

Stewart Segal, Chair of the Youth Employment UK board, expressed his enthusiasm for the new appointments:

“I am delighted to welcome Ciara, Charlotte, Jennifer, and John to the board. Their diverse expertise and shared passion for supporting young people will be invaluable as we embark on this next phase of growth. Their contributions will help us navigate challenges and create more opportunities for young people nationwide.”

Strengthening Leadership to Drive Impact

As an expert on youth employment and a leading organisation dedicated to empowering young people, Youth Employment UK is actively working to ensure that every young person has access to quality opportunities. The appointment of these four new leaders brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that will support the organisation’s mission.

Jennifer Coupland:

Jennifer Coupland has over 20 years’ experience in leading policy and delivering Government skills, education and training policy. She has worked in the Department for Work and Pensions, the Business Department and the Department for Education, and has also led the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), where she served as CEO for five years. She has recently taken up a secondment to London South Bank University where she is Pro-Vice Chancellor, Skills Portfolio. Jennifer has previously served for 3 years on the Council of the University of Roehampton, and is currently a trustee of World Skills UK, a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Fellow of the RSA.

“I’m delighted to be joining the board of Youth Employment UK. Early in my career, I led the DfE team tasked with reducing the number of young people not in education employment and training, and it’s been an issue close to my heart ever since. With 1 in 8 young people NEET and numbers rising, it’s a scandalous waste of potential and really damaging for the young people who find themselves in this situation. I’m looking forward to working with LJ, Stewart and all the team at Youth Employment UK to help the organisation grow its reach and impact in this space.”

John Cope:

John’s passion for education and social justice is deeply personal. Born to a 14-year-old mother on a council estate, he spent time in foster care before being adopted – an experience that shapes his commitment to tackling major social challenges and expanding opportunity.

Before standing for Parliament in 2024, John was Executive Director at UCAS where he launched a new corporate strategy and led the integration of apprenticeships. Alongside this, he was appointed by the government to the IfATE board which oversees the skills system in England, and the Digital Skills Council. He was previously a co-founder of the Education Policy Institute, advisor to several Education Ministers, and advised business leaders on labour markets and education while at the CBI.

He is currently a strategic advisor to a portfolio of schools, colleges, universities, employers, edtech firms, and charities, as well as serving on the advisory boards of College Online & the Access Project, non-executive director of the Ufi VocTech Trust, and the LGA’s Children & Young People Board. John was recently elected national chairman of the Conservative Councillors’ Association which represents and supports over 5,000 local councillors.

“With nearly a million young people now without a job or training, vacancies falling as the economy falters, and technology driving huge changes in the way we work, the work of Youth Employment UK couldn’t be more critical. It’s a privilege to support their mission to ensure more young people and businesses get access to the support they offer.”

Ciara O’Donnell:

Ciara is a Technical Author who specialises in writing engineering documents for a large manufacturing company. She started her career as an engineering apprentice in 2020 (specifically Control & Instrumentation) and qualified in 2023 as a Maintenance Practitioner before moving into Technical Authoring. 

Throughout her apprenticeship, Ciara also attended online and in-person recruitment events and webinars to encourage more young people to take up a STEM apprenticeship. In particular, encouraging women to join the STEM industry.

Ciara was a Youth Ambassador for Youth Employment UK for five years and wrote articles/blog posts about her employment journey before, during and after her apprenticeship. She has also spoken at numerous in-person and online events, including All Party Parliamentary Group meetings, the Youth Voice Census launches and the Apprenticeships and Training Conference. 

“I’m really excited to be joining Youth Employment UK’s Non-Executive Board and to work with the team to help empower and encourage young people to explore all of the opportunities available to them.”

Charlotte Bosworth:

Charlotte is Managing Director of Innovate Awarding, which is a regulated Awarding Body and End Point Assessment Organisation focused on providing the best chance of assessment success for Apprentices, Employers and Providers.  

Charlotte’s career within Education commenced in 1996 with RSA Examinations Board, and she has vast experience in curriculum, assessment and qualification design.

Charlotte has spent much of her career working in partnership with thought leaders in education to influence curriculum delivery and development and to ensure best practice is assimilated into the development of qualifications, assessments and delivery.  Much of Charlotte’s work has included building relationships and interpreting the needs of employers.

In addition, Charlotte is Chair of The Federation of Awarding Bodies, a Board member of AELP and Vice Chair at Walsall College.