Greenlands is county's youth unemployment hotspot

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GREENLANDS has the highest rate of youth unemployment in Worcestershire.

There are currently 90 out of work 18 to 24-year-olds in the ward meaning almost 14 per cent of the area’s young population has been jobless for up to a year.

It has replaced Oldington and Foley Park in Wyre Forest as the county’s youth unemployment hotspot as the number of young people out of work in Greenlands has remained static since February, raising the real prospect of a lost generation of workers in the area.

Church Hill also makes it onto the county’s top ten list in fifth place with 75 - or over 11 per cent of the district’s young population - seeking a job. The average for England is 6.1 per cent.

Sue Williams, centre manager at CSV Learning West Midlands based in Lakeside, described the figures as disgraceful and a waste of young people’s talents.

“There are jobs out there but young people don’t know how to apply for and then get them,” she said.

“A lot of it is to do with confidence. They are at rock bottom and made to feel worthless. These young people have potential and it’s just going to waste and that’s disgraceful.

“If they have never been employed they don’t know how to conduct themselves in an interview, how to dress and they just need some guidance and support. We know the longer you are out of work the harder it is to get back in.”

The charity recently launched a scheme called CSV Works along with the Job Centre and the Support Guidance and Skills Service to deliver a free ten week course for 18 to 24-year-olds which focuses on team building activities, interview techniques, job search techniques, presentation of yourself and CV, work experience and help applying for jobs.

The course launched in May and 28 per cent of those initially involved either went onto a job or an apprenticeship and that figure is expected to increase as the course switches focus from primarily confidence building to helping young people back into work.

Overall 600 young people are out of work in Redditch, almost a third of the total 1,945 people seeking Jobseekers Allowance in July. Although the total jobless figure increased slightly last month it is still down on the same month a year ago and lower than the start of this year.

Anyone interested in the CSV Works course should ask their Job Centre adviser or contact CSV Learning West Midlands direct on 01527 596822.

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