Life on the brink as young people look for working solution

It may be a new year, but for many young people it seems 2013 will bring the same old stories.

According to a new report published by the Princes Trust, many of the region’s young people are on the brink, unable to cope with day-to-day life and with little hope for the future.

The charity’s fifth annual Youth Index was based on more than 2,000 interviews with 16 to 25-year-olds across the UK and showed more than one in 10 young people in Yorkshire and the Humber are struggling against a backdrop of economic certainty. For those not in employment, education or training, known as NEETs, the situation is even more stark.

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Adam Thompson, from Hull, knows just how quickly the picture can change. A year ago he had what he thought was a secure job working in business administration. However, when the firm announced a number of redundancies, Adam was forced to look for work elsewhere. Entering an increasingly competitive jobs market, he applied for numerous positions only to be turned down. Many of his applications never even received a reply.

“I was feeling down,” says the 21-year-old. “The only thing I could think about was that I had no job, no money and no prospects.”

Adam eventually joined the Prince’s Trust’s Get into Retail programme and has since secured employment with a fast food chain. However, the charity fears that many other young people like Adam are slipping through the net.

Jonathan Townsend, regional director of The Prince’s Trust in the north of England, says: “A frightening number of unemployed young people in Yorkshire and the Humber feel unable to cope – and it is particularly tough for those who don’t have a support network in place. We know that it is often those from the most vulnerable backgrounds who end up furthest from the job market. Life can become a demoralising downward spiral – from a challenging childhood into life as a jobless adult. But, with the right support, we can help get these lives on track across the region.”

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According to the research, NEETs are significantly less happy across all areas of their lives and the research comes at a time when long-term youth unemployment has been on the rise, with the region having seen a 385 per cent increase since the beginning of the recession.

The report reveals how almost a third of young people (27 per cent) living in Yorkshire and the Humber believe their prospects have been “permanently damaged” by the economic downturn and nearly one in five (19 per cent) feel they have no future due to the economic crisis.

However, Ellis Bancroft is proof there is a way back. He was made redundant from a Doncaster arboriculture company just four days after his son was born and the news hit him hard.

“I was devastated,” says the 29-year-old, who was out of work for 18 months. “With so little money we were struggling to get by. Every penny counted. My confidence was at rock bottom. As the months went on I struggled to imagine ever finding a job again and things were so bad that we even considered moving in with my partner’s parents.”

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In a last-ditch attempt to provide for his young family, Ellis began exploring the idea of setting up his own landscaping business. He knew he had the skills to set up as a freelancer landscaper, but lacking the business know-how he secured a place on the Prince’s Trust enterprise programme.

Assigned a business mentor, he learned the basic principles of running a company and was also given help in writing a comprehensive business plan.

Ellis’s company, Bancroft & Son’s Arboriculture, is now establishing a reputation in South Yorkshire and he has already expanded into a logs and kindling delivery service, to ensure that he is able to maintain a steady cash flow.

Encouraging enterprise has been a mantra of the current Government, but without support many feel unable to take that first step.

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Richard Parish, chief executive of the Royal Society of Public Health, adds: “The Youth Index clearly shows a worrying discrepancy between young people who are in work and those who are not. These unemployed young people need support to regain their self-worth and, ultimately, get them back in the workplace.

“With recent record-breaking youth unemployment, the work of charities like the Prince’s Trust with vulnerable young people is more critical than ever.”

sarah.freeman@ypn.co.uk

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