Impact Case Study - Jada – Trash Gxng

Systemic challenges and limited opportunities

Life before

Jada is a young Black woman from South London and a 2024 IYCP graduate. While leaning on the support of Universal Credit and Housing benefits, she was actively seeking more creative opportunities to figure out her next steps. Although she had an idea of the career she wanted to pursue, she wasn’t clear on how to gain the right skills or experience to get there. Prior to joining IYCP, she had been moving between a few temporary roles—including a short-term cinema job and a four-month retail contract—which, while providing income, lacked the creativity and stability she was hoping for.

The uncertainty of these positions left her feeling stuck and disengaged, as she wasn’t enjoying what she was doing and couldn’t see a clear route toward her goals. Through the programme, Jada began to explore different pathways and realised there were multiple possibilities to reach her aspirations, helping her to feel more grounded and motivated about her future.

SUMMARY

the journey

Throughout our core IYCP programme, Jada took part in group workshops and interactive sessions that not only helped her build essential employability skills, but also made a real impact on her confidence—especially around public speaking. Jada shared that previously she used to hate presentations and would only do them if absolutely necessary. However, with regular opportunities in our programme to practise and implement those skills in a supportive environment, she is much more comfortable and confident to present. A valuable takeaway for Jada was creating a personalised career action plan using SMART goals, which helped her break down what once felt like overwhelming ambitions, into achievable steps. Jada also began to understand the value of building networks, connecting with others on the programme and learning from shared experiences.

An inspiration

Real impact

Within a week of completing the programme, she secured a role as a lettings agent in real estate, providing her with financial stability. This enabled her to continue exploring her creative passion and new creative pathways with growing confidence and clarity. During this time, Jada also participated in another creative programme—which she wouldn’t have known about if not for excelling on our programme and being recommended by Trash Gxng. The Apple Beats Programme, which included insightful talks and taking on a marketing project, helped solidify her interest in creative production. This led Jada to focus on transitioning back into a creative role full-time, and she says the programme helped her build confidence in both creative thinking and public speaking. She has now managed to secure a 3-month contract in the role of a coordinator for the Cannes Film Festival! Jada also remains in contact with her programme peers, sharing that the way the programme was delivered made it easy to build community—they’ve even gone on outings to the cinema together. Her journey highlights the importance of creative confidence and community in supporting young people through career transitions to break social isolation barriers for underrepresented young people.