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YouthPath LCRCA — Tom's journey with Cunliffes

Tom on his YouthPath work-experience placement at Cunliffes
8 April 2026
Through YouthPath, Movement to Work connected Cunliffes, an architecture and construction consultancy, with youth charity Thrive to create work-experience opportunities for NEET young people in Liverpool — enabling Tom to begin his professional journey.
After several years without work, Tom faced significant barriers entering the job market. He struggled with persistent employer non-responses and navigated personal challenges including potential ADHD that affected his attention and motivation. Despite these obstacles, he was selected for a placement at Cunliffes following an insight day — marking a turning point in his career search.

Tom's initial nervousness about returning to work after approximately four years was understandable. However, once his placement commenced, he found the supportive environment transformative. During his time at Cunliffes, Tom gained practical experience shadowing team members, learning design processes, and completing a week-long project using SketchUp to create a 3D model of a house.

The placement success reflects the strength of partnership between Cunliffes and Thrive. Cunliffes provided industry expertise and a welcoming environment, while Thrive delivered wraparound support enabling Tom's success throughout the experience.

Looking forward, Tom is actively pursuing opportunities in 3D modelling with game developers and considering formal internship pathways. He emphasises to employers the importance of recognising labour market challenges facing young people and the value of creating entry-level positions and training programmes.

For Cunliffes, this initial placement represents merely the beginning. Following this successful experience, the company plans to develop additional work-experience opportunities, with apprenticeships potentially being introduced in future.

Once it actually began it felt good to be able to learn new skills in an environment that suited me.
Tom

Mark Gotham, Director at Cunliffes, reflected positively on the collaboration: 'All involved viewed this as a positive experience and enjoyed assisting Tom. Having a young person to pass knowledge onto definitely gave staff energy. Tom's enthusiasm confirmed that working with Movement to Work was something we want to continue and develop.'

YouthPath is currently operating across three regions: Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, and Greater Manchester — in partnership with regional combined authorities. Employers in these areas can access expert, fully-funded support to develop youth employment programmes, access diverse talent pipelines, and strengthen community impact.