I eventually got my start as a Trainee Junior Support Technician, through work experience with community centres and connections made via the 21CS programme. That's when it clicked: young people, community centres, and companies could all benefit from working together. They just weren't.

The real spark came when I got the chance to help Virgin Active with a desktop refresh, alongside 24 other students, replacing 198 monitors in a single day. Going into a corporate environment, working as a team, and seeing the passion on everyone's faces made me think: this is what I want to do.

From there, working with PPCP (Peoples Place Community Partnerships), I noticed something else. There were dozens of separate social action projects that could be joined up into one ongoing cycle of work experience. Together with colleagues Yulian and Daniel, we built WEEE Renew: a way to give young people the same chance we'd had to reignite their passion for IT through hands-on work.

WEEE Renew was always about one thing: helping young people like us land the jobs we'd dreamed of in IT. So when Yulian got the chance to move into an IT role in the medical industry, there was only one response, the best wishes in the world for his next step.

Having been part of the project since day one, I took on the responsibility of leading WEEE Renew through its next chapter. It's been a challenge. But watching the project grow, and watching students get their first qualifications and walk into job roles, has made every bit of it worth it.

Young people are struggling to meet the requirements for entry-level roles through the traditional route. We joke about job listings asking for years of experience at entry level, but that joke exists because it's true. "Lack of experience" is one of the most common reasons young people get turned down.

Community sits at the heart of WEEE Renew. It's about connecting young people with their local community centres, and giving them a space within those centres to study and train towards their goals, together.

Through the 21CS project, we've built a network of over 250 graduates and current students. That network means our graduates can reach out to us when there's a job opening at their own company.

The clearest example of this is Fadi and Anas. Fadi landed his first role as an IT engineer at Discovery (Warner Bros). The experience he'd gained with us meant his manager asked if he knew anyone else who might be a fit. Through the connections he'd made on the programme, Fadi recommended Anas, a current student at the time, and a friend he'd made through WEEE Renew.

A position made available through hard work, networking, and friendship.

With youth unemployment still rising, the support systems that get young people into work matter more than ever. I want to see more young people given the chance to build the skills and qualifications they need for meaningful work, without having to look outside every existing system just to get a foot in the door.

Our short-term goal for WEEE Renew in 2026 is to get 12 of our students into industry roles. Every one of them will have got there the same way I did: through community, hands-on experience, and people willing to back them.

Read more about Vijai and WEEE Renew.