It’s been a busy couple of months for Apprentice Nation, the very necessary UK-based youth development platform whose main aim is to support young people in shaping their future.
Throughout the past month, Apprentice Nation have been using a combination of entertainment and education—or “edutainment” as they call it—to offer young people workshops, online content, live webinars and early-careers support geared towards getting young people onto the right career path.
The more participants engage with Apprentice Nation’s offerings—whether that be YouTube videos or webinars—the more credits they build up, which they can exchange for exclusive experiences and live events. And this season, in particular, participants were in for a treat.
Earlier this year, it was announced that energy drinks brand Lucozade would be partnering up with Apprentice Nation – joining lead partner BT – to support the organisation in their mission to give young people the skills and tools they need to get ahead in both their personal and professional lives.
Central to the whole collaboration between Apprentice Nation and Lucozade is a new co-created education pillar designed to set young adults up for success, called Unlock Your Potential. Under this banner, they’ll deliver free-to-access content aimed at inspiring the next generation and give them the tools to change the future for the better.
On the entertainment side is a twice-yearly live concert, which brings in some of the biggest names in UK music. This year’s Autumn programme kicked off in October with the Apprentice Nation gig at Under The Bridge in London; with Henrie Kwushue on hosting duties, the night featured epic live performances from AJ Tracey, Mae Muller and Ivorian Doll.
On top of that, the three artists donated their time for a series of interviews where participants were given the chance to ask the stars about their music and their careers. But it doesn’t stop there: AN participants will also be in with a chance of hanging out with the three stars (Dec. 2 with AJ Tracey, Dec. 3 with Mae Muller, and Dec. 9 with Ivorial Doll) by signing up here.
A few select members of the Apprentice Nation community in London were also given the opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at the filming process before footage of the event made its way online. Youth Advisors La-Tajah and Aqsa, both in their final year of school, were chosen to join Henrie on-stage to talk about their Apprentice Nation journey as part of a filmed interview with Henrie herself.
When asked what her personal highlight was, Multiverse apprentice at Publicis Media, Gabriella, who was lucky enough to be there in person, said: “Definitely watching AJ Tracey’s interview! He is a very inspiring individual, who has been through a lot before becoming an artist,” adding: “I cannot believe he completed one year of uni, but proved it was okay to drop out and pursue his passion. His performance was obviously amazing too!”
The three stars also took part in some live webinars, all of which are accessible via the Skills Hub.
This was an opportunity for each of the artists to offer participants some insight into subjects that were close to them, focusing not just on advice for building yourself up professionally, but also on discussions about wider social and even ecological issues.
For Mae Muller, that meant speaking on the pressing issue of climate change and what can be done to course-correct. “It’s a shame that it takes us to actively see the destruction to be like ‘this isn’t good’,” she said. “We really need to come together to do something about it.”
In Ivorian Doll’s webinar, she spoke on the value of emotional intelligence and how important it is for any artist to be able to gauge that and let it inform their behaviour and their performance.
“How to read the room is based on energy but not a lot of people know that,” she explained. “I’m always bubbly whatever type of mood I’m in. As soon as I walk into a room, first I look at people’s facial expressions and I try to match their energy. If they’re a bit stand-offish, maybe we take a bit of time to warm up. If I’m not in the mood, I wouldn’t be rude, but I’ll just kind of listen to them and take in what everyone’s saying.”
It also gave us an unexpected side to AJ Tracey. Known for his commanding stage presence and boundless confidence, it may come as some surprise to learn what AJ had to say about loneliness in his interview. As it turns out, the endless touring and moving from city to city, can be a solitary career choice and can make a real psychological impact.
“It’s always good to call your mum, your dad, or whoever it is you’re close with,” he said. “For me, it’s my mum. Just call your mum, ask her how her day’s been and she’ll check on you. Just keep that going.”
“Everyone gets lonely,” he adds. “I don’t think there’s anyone that doesn’t get lonely.”
Also announced this Autumn was the return of Apprentice Nation’s in-person Action Days. Now that the world has re-opened, they’ve started to offer ‘Skills Fest’ sessions that will sit alongside the online, on-demand entertainment, training and personalised support accessed via their Training Hub.
Between their Training Hub and YouTube channel, Apprentice Nation has a range of resources on offer. Whether it’s for personal wellbeing and awareness, levelling-up life skills, or career advice and insights, signing up for the content has already proven invaluable for participants and there’s plenty more on the way for 2022.
Apprentice Nation are also running prize draws for Apple devices and subscriptions, including Ableton and Adobe Creative Cloud, made possible by Lucozade. Sign up before December 9 to take part in the Artist Hangouts.
