Gen Z to advise ABPI in new Youth Advisory Council

The ABPI has launched its first Youth Advisory Council, giving 16- to 19-year-olds a direct say in how the pharmaceutical industry recruits, communicates and builds trust with Gen Z.

What will the Council do?

The new Youth Advisory Council will advise the ABPI on an ongoing basis, meeting through structured workshops over the year. The first sessions will tackle mis- and disinformation in health.

What comes out of them won’t gather dust. Ideas will feed straight into the association’s communications strategy, careers content and guidance for member companies.

“Our Gen Z research told us that young people want to be part of a conversation with industry, and so our Youth Advisory Council puts that into practice,” said Andrew Croydon, Director of Education and Examination Policy & Partnerships, ABPI. He said the advisers will help steer how the sector talks to, hires and earns the confidence of their peers.

Who is on it?

Members were chosen to reflect the make-up of the UK’s youth. They span different genders, educational stages, ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic circumstances and levels of prior interest in pharma, and they live everywhere from major research hubs to areas with little industry presence.

The Council got under way this month with eight members and has room to grow to 12.

Hadia Iqbal, speaking for the group, said it wants views represented “not just as a box-ticking exercise”. She added that members hope to dispel the confusion and mistrust people their age may feel towards the sector, and to show what is really possible in these careers.

Why now?

The move follows the ABPI’s June 2025 report, ‘Engaging with Gen Z: cultivating a diverse talent pipeline’, which explored how teenagers and young adults find careers information and what shapes their choices.

The work involved 502 people aged 16 to 25, 29 STEM teachers and careers leads, and a dedicated focus group, and was carried out by Hopscotch (now We.Communications).

Its message to industry was to swap polished corporate messaging for more authentic, continuing engagement led by the young people themselves, because this generation wants to be taken seriously and heard.