For young people the Covid pandemic hit during their crucial formative years. Balancing the mental strain of lockdown with uncertainties in education that already comes with huge stress and pressures left many feeling abandoned by the system and hopeless about the future. The new campaign from The Prince’s Trust calls on the UK to recognise this ‘Class of Covid’ to rebuild the hopes of young people.

2.8 million 16-25 year olds don’t think their job prospects will ever recover from the pandemic. As we straddle a cost of living crisis, a recession and a turbulent political environment worry is understandably at an all time high. While there was no good age to suffer the pandemic, the campaign is calling on people to celebrate the resilience and resourcefulness of young people that now need help and support to build a future career.

“Millions of young people are feeling the long-term impact of the pandemic on their confidence and on their job prospects. In this context the work of The Prince's Trust is more relevant than ever and the Class of Covid campaign is a rallying cry to supporters and young people.” explained Sylvia Lowe, Director of Brand & Marketing at The Prince’s Trust.

The campaign titled ‘Class of Covid’ was created by The&Partnership and paints a compelling picture of the mood of young people urging them to continue on and be proud of what they have achieved despite hardships beyond their control.

The campaign centers around a two-minute film fronted by Ashley Walters, British rapper, songwriter, actor and ambassador for the charity. In the film, Walters acts as commencement speaker at the graduation for the Class of Covid. Walters' rousing speech acknowledges the normal, everyday challenges that young people face and commends them for being able to manage these on top of a pandemic that spun the whole world on its head leaving even world leaders at a loss of what to do.

He tells the room: “You have graduated from the toughest school there is … where isolation was your classroom and resilience was your homework,” he tells them: "You've had to fight harder than any of us, now it's our turn to fight for you".

The film’s speech is intercut with the stories of four real young people whose lives have been changed by The Prince’s Trust. The scenes have been directly taken from the young people’s lives, giving testimony to their resilience and potential. As Walters’ speech gathers pace, audiences see the young people's lives start to improve for the better, from a young man finding employment for the first time to a girl finding the inner resolve to re-enter society after lockdown.

“A generation of disadvantaged young people are suffering economic long covid. The 'Class of Covid' aims to frame that generation in a way they will never be underestimated or overlooked. The graduation speech is just the start of a campaign to give them confidence and get them a job.” added Toby Allen, Executive Creative Director at The&Partnership.

The film was scripted by Dan Dehlavi and Carl Storey, and developed in collaboration with director Renee Maria Osubu and Somesuch Productions. The film will run across VOD, cinema, social and OOH alongside a TikTok campaign that encourages young people from across the UK to share their own stories.

To help further support The Prince’s Trust ‘Get Hired’ scheme, The&Partnership have committed to provide pre-employment training to young people on Prince's Trust programmes and support them to apply for full-time apprenticeship roles in The&Academy, their new digital marketing programme based in Birmingham. 

While the past few years have proved difficult for everyone, providing hope and commitment to the young people of tomorrow will help rebuild for the future.