Neet solutions? Dudley steps up with plan to tackle youth unemployment

It is a rainy day in Dudley, and Alex Jones and his friends are taking shelter under some trees in the car park of the local technical college.

- Richard Partington

Students at Dudley College hope automotive qualifications will lead to jobs

(CHRISTOPHER THOMOND/THE GUARDIAN)

Clad in blue overalls on a mid-morning break from class, the students are hopeful that their automotive qualifications will stand them in good stead for finding work.

Here in the heart of the Black Country, however, that is not always guaranteed. “Trying to find a part-time job is like trying to find a needle in a haystack,” says the 17-year-old trainee mechanic.

“They don’t care what grades you have, they just want experience,” chimes in Thomas, his course mate. Derek Fowkes agrees: “Teenagers end up working in KFC or McDonald’s.”

Dudley is at the centre of a youth jobs crisis sweeping Britain, where almost a million 16to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training (Neet). One in five school-leavers aged 16 and 17 in the West Midlands town are in this position, the highest rate in England.

In her autumn budget this month, Rachel Reeves is expected to outline how the government plans to turn the tide. While she is widely predicted to announce a tough package of tax rises and spending cuts, the chancellor will need to keep some firepower in reserve to tackle rising unemployment.

Having promised a “youth guarantee” at Labour’s party conference in September, she is expected to spell out how it will work in practice and make the financial backing available. Reeves is also being called on to boost growth by raising investment in skills, training and apprenticeships.