Preston: Future Talent, June 2026

Our second #InTheCity event of 2026, Preston: Future Talent, took place in the recently (but not fully) opened Vault, Preston Youth Zone, bringing business owners, city leaders and those earlier in their careers together in an inspiring (and well-air conditioned) space.

This event was sponsored by IN4 Group by way of a donation to our hosts, Vault.

Vault Youth Zone

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see inside the £12m purpose-built youth facility, which is part of the On-Side network, you may be surprised just how much they are able to offer young people.

Tim Jacques, CEO of Vault, explained to our members that the youth zone has been partially open since late March (waiting on final road works to be completed before fully operational), and already has more than £2k members accessing facilities such as:

Boxing suit (where we were hosted)
Kick Pitch
Makers Zone
Music / DJ suite
Climbing wall
Sports Hall
Health & wellbeing room
Training Kitchen

Tim explained that the running costs are around £1.5m per year, an amount that is not covered by the £5 membership and 50p session fees. You can find out more about Vault and becoming a Founder Patron on their website.

AI Super Curriculum

Mo Isap OBE, guest speaker and CEO of IN4 Group, inspired the room with his insight into education outcomes, lifetime earning potential and real-life inequalities that are present in our communities and emphasized the importance of the business community in working with organisations such as the Youth Zone.

Mo introduced IN4’s AI Native Youth pilot programme, designed to disrupt the education system for young people at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) with AI apprenticeships. This government-backed programme focuses on AI literacy, critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving, based on a recruit-train-employ model, with a Level 3 Digital Champion AI apprenticeship.

What makes this model different is that IN4 take on all compliance and risk concerns from employers, removing barriers so that the young people can make an impact from day one.

This builds on IN4’s established MEGA HUbs, currently rolling out across every secondary school in Lancashire.

You can find out more about the AI Native Youth Pilot on IN4’s website.

Building Preston’s Future: panel discussion

Mo joined panel host, Gaby Ingham, Head of Fundraising and Communications at Vault, and fellow panelists:

Helen Wright, Training Manager, Westinghouse
Martin Blunt, Head of Enterprise and Engagement Unit for the University of Lancashire

They discussed important themes such as:

Developing & retaining future talent in the city
Social capital and advocacy
Preston’s economic case for change
Future leadership
Partnerships between business and youth organisations

Upcoming events

14 July Social Value Workshop with Stepnell
- Join Preston Partnership and Stepnell for this exclusive workshop exploring social value, including common barriers and recent wins.
29 July Preston Partnership CoWorking Day at Society1
29 July A new chapter for Avenham, guided netwalk.