I was brought up in an environment surrounded by addiction. It shaped my childhood in ways I didn’t fully understand at the time. Because of the chaos at home, I missed much of primary school. I was more interested in looking after my younger sisters, and about trying to make sense of a world that didn’t feel safe, rather than what Job I wanted to do in the future.

When I was eight years old, my nan took me and my sisters into her care. What was meant to be temporary became permanent when addiction eventually took both of my parents’ lives. That moment changed everything. It gave me stability, but it also gave me a responsibility I didn’t choose, and a determination to break the cycle I’d grown up in.

Because some of the experiences that I’d lived through, I wanted to join the police from a young age. I wanted to protect people who were going through the same things I had.

But when I applied, I was rejected, not because of who I was, but because of the circumstances I grew up in. That rejection hurt, but it also pushed me to find another way to serve my community.

I started volunteering at CATCH Leeds, a charity based in Harehills. When apprenticeship roles came out, I took the opportunity, even though I didn’t really understand what an apprenticeship was. I thought apprenticeships were a “fake qualification,” and I didn’t think a business apprenticeship would help me join the police or support my community.

But there was once again another barrier. Because I was stepping away from full time education, the financial support my nan received would be cut if I took an apprenticeship. That’s a reality many young people face. The system unintentionally punishes them for trying to gain experience and opportunity. And in fact, it nearly stopped me from taking the opportunity.

Once I started my apprenticeship, I realised I had a natural drive for policy, process, and compliance. I cared about how things worked, why they worked, and how they could be improved. That led me into health and safety, governance, and organisational systems - areas I never imagined myself in, but where I found real passion.

Youth work, and community also came part of the apprenticeship. I was working mornings, evenings, weekends, not because I had to, but because I cared. I didn’t know how to rest, but I knew how to give everything I had.

Because I pushed myself, opportunities started to find me. Joining networks of meaningful people and organisations. I keynote‑spoke at events across Leeds and West Yorkshire. I represented young people in rooms I never thought I’d enter.

And recently, I was asked to keynote at the Mayor’s launch of West Yorkshire becoming the Region of Creativity and Learning, something I never imagined when I first walked into CATCH as a volunteer.

I encourage everyone to push themselves that little bit further.

Not because it’s easy, but because you never know what doors will open when you do.

James Pearson

Business Administration Apprentice | Operations & Event -- Pushing the limits at 18 years old

You can find out more and connect with James on LinkedIn.