The programme is funded by the Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association, and administered through the Premier League Charitable Fund. This support enables football clubs like Liverpool FC to address local challenges, tackle inequality, and create more inclusive opportunities for communities.

The launch event brought together 40 people, including LFC Foundation CEO Matt Parish and former Liverpool FC goalkeeper and LFC Foundation's Community Ambassador, Chris Kirkland. Attendees also heard from a variety of programme stakeholders, such as Charlie, who is part of the Foundation’s Employability Ambassador group, and Ian Pollard, a two-time mentor for the Post-Mentorship Programme, who shared their experiences of supporting young people.

Pathway to Works is a free programme for participants aged 16–25 across the Liverpool City Region, designed to help young people become work-ready, gain confidence, and take meaningful steps toward employment. The programme includes hands-on activities, career-focused workshops, and opportunities to meet industry professionals who can offer insight, advice, and inspiration.

The programme will also engage with schools and colleges across the Liverpool City Region, supporting young people in education who need extra guidance with their next steps towards employment. In addition, the programme will collaborate with local and national employers from a wide range of sectors to ensure every young person who engages is offered a guaranteed interview.

For the first cohort of the Pathway to Works programme, LFC Foundation collaborated with Sodexo and ACC Liverpool which resulted in 20 job roles being offered to its participants.

Toward the close of the event, Chris Kirkland spoke about his involvement in employability programmes at the Foundation and the importance of helping young adults into employment:

“If you’ve got the ability to help people, why wouldn’t you do it? I want to be able to give young adults more opportunities…I’ve seen first-hand the confidence the Foundation’s employability programmes build in the young adults. The work the team on the ground does with these young adults is huge.”

With the support of the Premier League, the LFC Foundation is committed to ensuring that Pathway to Works helps young people build confidence, develop skills, and access opportunities to shape brighter futures.

If you are a school, college, or employer that would like to be involved in Pathway to Works and support our young people, then please get in touch by emailing: james.mccall@liverpoolfc.com