Andrew Moreman

Andrew has been a youth worker for over 30 years and has been lucky to work alongside young people in several cities and counties across the UK and overseas. Prior to moving to Devon, he worked for Kent, Sussex and Hackney local authorities managing youth clubs and youth services and supporting voluntary sector organisations. He has also led voluntary organisations in Cambridgeshire, Sussex and Lambeth as well as spending time in Melbourne, Victoria developing training and employment pathways for young people.

Andrew is passionate about doing everything we can locally to give young people opportunities to have a say in the decisions that affect them, and to be given the chance to grow and thrive regardless of what’s happened before. He truly believes that building relationships is one of the most important things we do professionally and personally – and the best thing about youth work is getting to do that.

Throughout his working life he has focused on youth and community work and the ability it has to develop truly local responses and solutions to the challenges young people face. Whether that’s literacy programmes, arts and theatre, open access youth clubs or outdoor learning he has been fortunate enough to work in places and with colleagues who were pre-occupied with ensuring young people had the best chance to grow and thrive. He now works at Young Devon, a charity providing accommodation, homelessness support, help with mental health, employment support, skills development, help for victims of crime and much more. He is excited about the opportunity to support the South-West Social Mobility Commission and the possibility it brings to ensure we close the gaps in experiences that young people have growing up in the South-West – it’s a challenge none of us can ignore.