Work in the UK: ‘I want to get a job but I don’t know how’

Young people must “earn or learn” or face benefits cut, under government plans to get them back into work and grow the economy.

Almost a million young people were out of education, employment or training between July and September, official figures show.

Job centers and mental health support will get more funding to help people into work, the government has said. But business leaders have said increases in employer National Insurance contributions and minimum wages will leave them with less money to create new jobs.

The BBC spoke to young people who have not yet entered the workforce, as well as those who have chosen to leave it.

Hasan, 20, from Birmingham, completed his A-levels in 2022 and has been out of work ever since.

“This year has been a constant struggle… I want to get a job but how do I get a job? And how do I write the right CV? And how do I apply for things?”

He is receiving support in these efforts from the King’s Trust.

Hasan missed out on sitting his GCSE exams due to the Covid pandemic and said it was “amazing” to sit formal exams for the first time at 18.

“I realized that what I had been calling ‘stress’ for many years was actually anxiety… I had been carrying it around for so long,” he said.

“There’s a lot of talk about mental health these days…but a lot of people think it’s overrepresented…trying to identify the issues you face in your everyday life. You feel unsure about what to do.”

The Government’s Get Britain Working Plan says places with the highest levels of unemployment will get extra NHS support, including extra mental health specialists.

Hassan’s mental health problems in his last year at school meant he stopped applying to university, but due to the rising cost of tuition fees, he’s no longer sure if it’s right for him. .

“That’s the thing that’s still sold to us, the idea that you get good grades, and go to university, and get a job, and get a house, and start a family, but it’s not… it’s not. happening to our generation.”

Amy Wilkes, 23, from Coventry, has a degree in criminology, policing and investigation but said when she applies for jobs she gets no response.

“It’s really frustrating, soul-destroying and discouraging,” said Amy, who has been volunteering with the witness service for more than a year.

“It’s very difficult to find a job, let alone a career,” he said.

The last job she applied for was in victim assistance, but she was told she didn’t have enough experience.

“What else can I offer? I have a relevant degree and a lot of volunteer work experience”, he said.

She told the BBC that her morale can be low at times, and that she sometimes struggles emotionally, particularly because she “ends up applying for so many jobs”.

Young people who refuse to work. Face by cutting their benefitsthe Work and Pensions Secretary has said.

Amy says she would be left in “a tight spot” if her benefits were taken away, although she would be “open to any experience because it would all help”.

“I really want to work, but it’s hard finding work. There’s not enough support to help people find more help and work.”

Kierna, 18, from Birmingham, said her struggle to find a job began in the sixth form where she felt misunderstood because of her learning difficulties and mental health struggles.

“I went to college… but I felt like they didn’t understand me, they would moan at me, walk on me… They didn’t understand that learning things is very difficult for a person with a learning disability… in this. It takes a long time for it to click in your head,” he said.

Kiarna said the lack of support and structure after completing formal education was also a barrier to finding work. He is now receiving support from the King’s Trust.

“My whole day was going to work and going to college with family members and sitting there trying to figure out what my next step was,” he said.

“For kids with mental health issues, as soon as you leave college, you don’t know what’s going to happen next… it really hits you hard.

“The government should listen and listen to the youth… and say that they will do more to get the youth to work, not approve of them.”

Fiona Button, 48, from London, left the workforce 10 years ago to look after her three children, later struggling to find suitable childcare. “To be honest, I’d rather go out and get a job,” said Mrs Button. She added that she was temporarily looking for part-time or freelance work as a copywriter.

But she said “domestic responsibilities are not things that go away”, and she had no one she could turn to for help looking after the children. Her partner runs a 150-person business that demands a lot of her time, and all four of her parents are dead.

Fiona said that if she got a job, she could probably end up paying for work because of the cost of hiring a nanny. She added: “Babysitting is expensive and it’s easier and less stressful if I do it myself because there are fewer moving parts to coordinate.”

In particular, school holidays and sick days add to the challenge of achieving flexible childcare.

Andrew Bullock, 61, from Coventry, retired as a teacher aged 55.

“It didn’t satisfy me anymore and I hated being managed by people much younger than me,” he said.

“Since I stopped working, I have used my time to spend more time looking after family and friends, doing volunteer work and traveling abroad.”

Andrew now spends more time visiting his mother in a care home, and will start looking after his granddaughter next year when his daughter returns to work from maternity leave.

Andrew owns a few rental properties and does the maintenance himself. He doesn’t think the government can make him work again.

He says he lives “pretty well” because his hobbies are cheap and he has “enough income to live off the rent on the property and some of my pension.”

“I’m very happy now, doing what I love,” added Andrew.