Exclusive: Jobs crisis ‘set to blight whole generation’ in countryside

Occupations including farming, conservation and forestry which have traditionally provided long-term job security are now being increasingly undermined by the ongoing slump.

Grave concerns have been voiced that a generation of workers will be left with limited prospects in the increasingly competitive job market.

Many sections of the rural workforce who have previously not needed to excel academically are faced with huge uncertainty as their jobs are placed in jeopardy and they have little prospect of pursuing alternative careers.

Poor public transport links and the soaring cost of fuel are compounding the problems in rural areas as people are forced to look further afield for work.

A dogged determination to persevere with rural businesses that have often been in the same family for generations also means owners are continuing to try to salvage an income when their enterprise is already doomed.

Conservative MP for Scarborough and Whitby Robert Goodwill admitted many members of countryside communities had not previously needed to pursue academic qualifications to secure work.

Mr Goodwill’s own family has been running a 250-acre arable farm near Castle Howard in North Yorkshire since 1850.

“The thing we really need to address is the people who find themselves at the bottom of the job market,” he said.

“There needs to be a transition from jobseeker to employee and the Government is attempting to get away from the benefits culture that has existed before. Industries like farming are a way of life and many people are willing to work long hours for often little return.

“They want to keep the businesses going which have been in their families for generations, but there is a danger they keep plugging away when other firms would have called it a day a long time ago.

“For a farmer in his 50s, there is a big question as to what he would do. But employers need to look at life experience as well as actual qualifications – the middle aged still have an awful lot to offer.”

While official figures suggest that employment levels in large parts of rural Yorkshire remain high compared with national averages, the statistics mask an often worrying trend.

Many of the countryside’s workforce are employed in seasonal and extremely poorly paid jobs, with little chance of progressing up the career ladder.

Academic qualifications, which were not deemed a high priority to embark on careers such as farming and forestry, are now a prerequisite to ensure candidates can compete in the cut-throat world of job-hunting.

Numeracy and literacy levels are significantly below the national average in many rural parts of the region.

In Ryedale, North Yorkshire, a quarter of over-19s do not have a GCSE grade C or above in either maths or English.

While Ryedale has the highest employment rate in the country of 86 per cent – matched only by the Shetland Islands – the vast majority of the district’s workforce is involved in poorly paid jobs with an average income of just under £18,000.

The Ryedale area manager for North Yorkshire County Council’s learning and skills service, Gill Garbutt, said: “People are now coming forward who are becoming increasingly worried for their jobs.

“These are careers that were once perceived as jobs for life, such as farming or running a bed and breakfast, but sadly there is no such thing these days.

“People have contacted us to say they are now very worried that they will struggle to find another job because they don’t have the same qualifications or career experience as other potential candidates who are out there.”

The number of people claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance (JSA) in North Yorkshire – which is home to many of the region’s rural communities – has risen by almost 75 per cent in just five years.

The official figures for last month revealed that there are now 9,613 people claiming JSA in North Yorkshire.

While the number is down from the 10,402 people claiming JSA in North Yorkshire in March last year, it remains dramatically up on the statistics for March 2006 when there were just 5,618.

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