Giving young people a future

AT a recent networking event, I got talking to a group of young entrepreneurs from Durham. Inevitably, the conversation soon turned to the economic downturn.

Yet despite the doom and gloom, it was uplifting to hear that they were cautiously optimistic about their futures. One business was seeing an increase in work while another felt that through careful planning, he could weather the economic storm and come out stronger.

These young people had high expectations about the opportunities life could offer. They felt that with enough hard work and confidence, they could make something of themselves, and rightly so. You may know a young person with similar aspirations in life along with that infectious energy young people can have. Indeed, many of us remember being just like them.

The reality is that there are also 40,000 disadvantaged young people living in the North- East who are far less excited about their prospects, with many left wondering what further disappointment life has in store for them.

Many have already written off their futures, perhaps disillusioned by their past mistakes, lack of qualifications and limited access to role models. They may have struggled at school, are in or leaving the care system, or have never had a job to be proud of.

Others will have been in trouble with the law, leaving them to conclude that finding a job would prove impossible, especially when talk of laid-off staff and recruitment freezes is rife.

In one year, our region has seen a startling 58 per cent rise in 18 to 24-year-olds claiming Jobseekers’ Allowance, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. As reported exclusively in The Northern Echo, more than 27,000 18 to 24-year-olds currently claim Jobseekers’ Allowance across the North-East alone, costing the state more than £1.3m a week.

Statistics like this shine a glaring torch in the faces of thousands of wasted young lives, many of whom are already blind to their potential and staring into bleak futures.

A recent North-East poll conducted by The Prince’s Trust linked young people who are not in education, employment or training to a sense of worthlessness – revealing that for a quarter of them, life has no purpose.

Every week, I meet young people like this who think that having their whole life ahead of them only guarantees a lifetime of disappointment.

So what hope exists for these generations who will one day be tasked with raising our posterity? However old-fashioned, I believe that when it comes to young people, there is always hope. Some would argue that a young person should be regarded with respect, because how do we know that, with the right guidance and in some cases a second chance, their future will not be equal to our present?

Take 26-year-old Nathan, who was brought up in the high crime area of Chappletown, Leeds. After falling in with the wrong crowd, he got caught up in gangs and drugs. By the time he was 20, he had already been shot and spent most of his life looking over his shoulder.

Nathan ended up serving a seven-year sentence in HMP Kirk Levington, Yarm. His only son was born while he was in prison and he had left behind three younger sisters who needed his support.

In prison and away from his peers, he soon realised that more than anything, he wanted to give his little boy a stable upbringing and a father to be proud of. He could do this by fulfilling his life-long dream of becoming a youth worker, but remained unconvinced that he would ever be given the second chance he needed.

Towards the end of his sentence, Nathan attended a 12-week personal course called Team, run for The Prince’s Trust by Stockton Riverside College. He also completed an NVQ and a number of voluntary placements with charitable organisations, including West Middles- The Northern Echo Your campaigning newspaper Founded 1870 No 42,885 COMMENT Editor: Peter Barron Deputy editor: Chris Lloyd Head of advertising and marketing: Chris Moore Regional newspaper sales manager: Vickie Henderson Customer services: 01325-381313 Subscriptions: 01274-705248 or amy.kitchen@bradford.newsquest.co.uk Newspaper sales: homedelivery@nne.co.uk Head office: Priestgate, Darlington, Co Durham, DL1 1NF ■ The Northern Echo (price 45p) is published by Newsquest (North East) Ltd – a Gannett company – at Priestgate, Darlington, DL1 1NF.

12 LEADER AND COMMENT The Northern Echo northernecho.co.uk MONDAY, JULY 6, 2009 Giving young people a future MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Prince’s Trust volunteers working in the community Time for a pay freeze THERE has been a predictable response to suggestions that a public sector pay freeze will help Britain out of the recession.

Steve Bundred, chief executive of the Audit Commission, said he believed workers, including those in the NHS and education, would “tolerate”

a wage freeze because they had done well in the last ten years.

He was wrong.

First out of the traps was Chris Keates, general secretary of the teaching union the NASUWT, who said: “The idea that you must have some equity of misery, that because the private sector is suffering, the public sector must too, is disgraceful.”

Next came Brian Strutton, for the GMB, who warned: “Any interference is bound to be disruptive and could lead to unnecessary calls for industrial action.”

Of course, the Government has to be fair to people who work in the public sector. The roles they perform help make the UK a better place to live.

But when workers in the private sector are facing not just wage freezes but actual wage cuts, why should the public sector escape?

The average secondary headteacher earns £69,000 per year, a primary head gets £50,000. And a primary school teacher earns an average of £30,400 a year compared to £33,400 in secondaries.

Compared with many private sector jobs, those are already good salaries.

And workers in the public sector are the only people who can look forward with absolute certainty to a gold-plated pension when they retire.

Alistair Darling has already intimated that a pay freeze may be on the cards. Anyone who doesn’t agree can always opt to join the real world. brough Neighbourhood Trust. Nathan took every opportunity to transform his life for the better. Because of his fantastic progress, voluntary work and determination to help others, he was offered five paid jobs on release from prison. He accepted a post with a youth development team in a prestigious public sector organisation, where part of his youth work will involve helping to run the very Prince’s Trust programme that helped him to turn his life around.

This young man educates disadvantaged young people on making positive life choices that will lead to long-term gain, not just for the individuals involved, but for the communities they live in.

He has also agreed to become a Young Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust. His roles and responsibilities will involve volunteering his time, speaking to the local community, taking part in debates and meeting MPs in the hope of inspiring other young people.

Time and time again, I meet young people who cope with almost unbelievable challenges; overcoming incredible barriers to succeed against the odds. Indeed, it is clear that young people are disproportionately disadvantaged when times get tough in the jobs market. It is also beyond argument that within our region there are towns and cities that face particular challenges.

But what I see every day is that young people are somehow capable of coping with the hand they have been dealt, however shocking or terrible that hand may be, and as long as someone is there to help them when they need it, then they will succeed.

Last year in the North-East, the trust supported more than 4,000 disadvantaged and unemployed young people. By providing a range of programmes, we have helped many to overcome their barriers and get their lives working.

Three in four went on to access work, education or training, which speaks volumes about the importance of second chances and believing in our younger generations.

As times get tighter, there is every chance that we stop providing support for young people just as they need it more than ever. As companies squeeze their corporate social responsibility budgets and individuals tighten their belts in these undeniably difficult times, it is tempting to view charitable giving as an easy saving to make.

In a report published by the Cass Business School and The Prince’s Trust, it was revealed that nearly a third (30 per cent) of companies expect corporate giving to fall in the recession, putting further pressure on services for disadvantaged young people.

The long-term costs of failing to give our region’s disadvantaged young people a helping hand at the time when many of them need it most must be counted in wasted human potential as well as in monetary terms. I don’t know how best to value Nathan’s future, but I do know that to Nathan, the help he was given when he needed it most was priceless.

More about The Prince’s Trust

Youth charity The Prince’s Trust helps change young lives. It gives practical and financial support, developing key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation. It works with 14 to 30-yearolds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.

The Prince of Wales’ charity has helped more than 575,000 young people since 1976 and supports 100 more each working day.

Further information is available at princes-trust.org.uk or on 0800-842-842