Jayne Dowle: The hand-outs are over, but give us more than promises

And the ones we have are not varied enough to attract the wide range of workers – manual, services, manufacturing, professional – to give places like Barnsley enough sustainable activity to haul itself out of the economic hole it has been in since the pits closed more than 20 years ago.

The Government, presiding over swingeing cuts to public sector jobs, promises that the private sector will expand to fill the gap. In all but the most affluent areas in our region, this looks like wishful thinking.

Regeneration experts point out that the jobs weren't coming in substantial numbers even when the economy was growing, so what hope do we have now?

There are glimmers. ASOS, the online fashion giant, is setting up a new operations centre in Grimethorpe. It wouldn't be here if it wasn't for hard work behind the scenes from local politicians and business people. But we all need to be ambassadors for our county. Our aim should be to promote the benefits of its location, its close proximity to major transport links and its ready supply of labour.

The Government, and specifically Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, need to be aware of what we can offer. We don't want PR stunts and glad-handing photo opportunities. We just want ministers to recognise that we can't hope to create a successful, competitive country when at least half of it is left behind. Meanwhile, the long-empty units on our business parks stand testimony to high hopes that weren't met five years ago, and look unlikely to be met any time soon.

So what else must be done? Well, first of all we have to realise that we are not alone. Yorkshire is not a special case, nationally, or globally. The closure of the Pfizer site in Sandwich, Kent, with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs in the pharmaceutical industry, is a timely reminder of that.

If this can happen in the relatively prosperous south-east, then it can happen anywhere. Our own problems may be local and immediate, but all of us in Britain are at the mercy of global forces we can't control.

And then, we have to realise that we are alone. Whatever you think about the politics of the previous government targeting financial aid at unemployment black-spots, public money helped to offer opportunities in some of the region's most deprived towns and cities. The ambition of creating jobs in the creative and digital industries, for example, was always met with derision by critics, but you can't argue that it wasn't an imaginative way to try and overcome unemployment in areas blighted by the decline of heavy industry.

Now most of that money has dried up. There will be no more cash hand-outs from Whitehall, and precious little pumped in from Europe. The coalition made that clear from the off, when it cancelled the 80m loan to the steel company Forgemasters in Sheffield shortly after it came to power. That certainly signalled its intention that from now on, private enterprise was on its own.

Big employers – obviously – have to be as efficient and streamlined as possible to compete on a global scale. But I say, spare a thought for the workers. Recently, I was talking to a lad I went to school with. He told me that he "works" at a supermarket distribution centre. He's pleased that he has got a job, of sorts, but he had only clocked on for eight shifts in the past month.

Too many big companies cut costs by keeping staff on short contracts, using agencies to offer a few shifts at a time, and thereby avoid any need to offer holiday or sick pay, never mind a pension or any kind of long-term security. But when your only alternative is Jobseeker's Allowance, what choice do you have?

Well, you could always set up on your own. The region desperately needs entrepreneurs, self-starting individuals who can diversify the economy, provide jobs for others, and set an example to the young people coming up behind. It's easy to say it, but not so easy to set in practice.

Vince Cable promises a network of 40,000 mentors to help fledging businesses get off the ground. All very well, but try and set up your own business and you might not even qualify for Jobseeker's Allowance whilst you do it. Families still have to be fed, equipment and premises secured, and the banks are not exactly forthcoming with private finance.

But it is precisely these kind of businesses that the Government means when it talks about providing an alternative to the public sector and to the big businesses at the constant mercy of global forces. It is time for some urgent joined-up thinking from ministers. None of us expects a job on a plate, but all of us deserve more than airy promises that the private sector will provide.