‘They’re anxious about everything’: life for young people seeking work in Dudley and Lewisham

Kiara, Tia and Whitney in Downham, south London, who have been supported by the youth service Elevate 100. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian View image in fullscreen Kiara, Tia and Whitney in Downham, south London, who have been supported by the youth service Elevate 100. Photograph: Martin Godwin/The Guardian ‘They’re anxious about everything’: life for young people seeking work in Dudley and Lewisham Challenges vary from poor transport links to high numbers of people flocking to the area looking for work W hen 19-year-old Dejanae set her online job search criteria for the local area, she was shocked at how few options came back. She studied animal science in college but is struggling to find work in the West Midlands. “It’s hard. You put Dudley , but it’s mainly jobs outside Dudley that come up because there just isn’t much here,” she said. “Even jobs in Birmingham (10 miles away) are difficult because I’m two hours away on a bus, so they don’t even want to consider me.” In a report on the soaring number of young people who are not in education, employment or training (Neet) released in May, Dudley was singled out for its extremely high level of youth unemployment. The number of Neets and “not knowns” in the area was 21.5%, much higher than the national average of 5.6%. The majority of London boroughs, even those with similar rates of deprivation, have rates at about 2-4%. Of the 10 English local authorities with the highest proportion of Neets, eight were in the north or Midlands. The Neet crisis is one of the biggest problems facing Andy Burnham in his first few months as prime minister, and many are eagerly waiting to see how he responds to the report by Alan Milburn. View image in fullscreen Andy Burnham has reinstated a £2 cap on bus fares in England, but for many young people poor transport links remain a huge barrier to accessing employment. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters His recent reinstatement of a £2 cap on bus fares in England has been welcomed as a boost for young people who are more likely to rely on this mode of transport. But the Green party said the policy should be more targeted, calling for permanent free travel for all people under 22. Bus travel is a big problem in Dudley, where poor transport links remain a huge barrier to accessing jobs in Birmingham. A long-awaited tram extension has been delayed for the eighth time. In the heart of the Black Country, Dudley was one of the birthplaces of the Industrial Revolution and became a significant manufacturing hub in the postwar period. But as this heavy industry declined, so did the number of local jobs, diverting many to Birmingham, which now has a rapidly expanding professional and financial services sector. Callum, a 20-year-old from Dudley, says he has applied for well over 1,000 jobs in the past four years. “I’m trying to get something within a 10-mile radius but there’s so little out there, and so many roles require experience young people just don’t have,” he said