The number of young people out of work or education in the UK has hit 1 million for the first time in over 12 years, with experts warning we are at risk of ‘losing a generation’. Here, 23-year-old Chelsea shares the daily reality of trying to find a job
A 23-year-old has shared the “horrible” reality of being unable to find permanent work – despite firing off 20 job applications a day.
Chelsea Duke is one of the estimated 1.01 million young people aged 16 to 24 in England who are not in education, employment or training – widely known as NEETS, and this number is rising. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a record number of these young adults are now classified as “economically inactive.”
Instant job rejections, no money to learn how to drive and having to rely on her partner to cover all her costs – Chelsea Duke’s situation is worryingly common across the UK. The young woman, from Pontypridd, Wales, tells the Mirror that unstable housing has been a huge factor in her struggle to secure long-term employment.
“I’ve been trying to get a job since last year in August so it’s almost been a year now,” Chelsea, who has a diploma in animal management and left education when she was nearly 19 years old, says.
She explains she has had a couple of short-term jobs since, then, including as a Sainsbury’s overnight Christmas temp, but despite submitting 20 applications a day she has had no joy in finding permanent employment.
“I left education during Covid,” Chelsea says. “I lived with my mum for a bit, then I got a job as a dog grooming assistant and I moved out.” She was then forced to move out of her new property through no fault of her own, and found herself in a hellish cycle.
“I’ve been in and out of jobs, but not because I wanted to be, because I had to move so much,” she explains. She says the unstable housing situation is “definitely” being part of the problem, “because I would have been able to get a more consistent job if I knew if I had to move home or not”.
The relentless rejection she faces on the job hunt is “horrible” – and it’s made worse by AI been used to screen potential candidates. “I’ll apply for 20 jobs in a day and then half of them I’ll get an email back within the next minute saying, ‘You haven’t been selected for the next step’. I just know that a human didn’t read that. I know a person didn’t read the CV, so they didn’t even give me a chance.”
Chelsea is trained to work on farms, in pet shops, or animal shelters. Another stumbling block she comes across is that a full driving license is a requirement for these positions when they do come up and she can’t afford driving lessons, creating a painful catch-22.
“I’m stuck in like a loop where it’s like ‘oh if I get this job I’ll have more money, but I can’t drive. Let me get a smaller job, you know, just a retail job and then I can make the money and I can learn to drive ‘Oh, they’re not hiring me.’ I don’t know why.”
Chelsea was relying on Universal Credit as a “top up” to the freelance income she made from working as an artist, but when she moved in with her boyfriend Solomon, this was suddenly cut off.
Her partner works as an underwriter for a bank, and because of the amount he earns, she no longer qualified for UC. This adds pressure to their dynamic, and fills Chelsea with a lot of guilt. “He barely makes above minimum wage, he just has a lot of hours,” the 23-year-old says.
“I feel really guilty because he’s paying all the bills” Chelsea tells us, adding it would be different “if he earned enough to support both of us comfortably and not stress himself out.”
“Even 20 years ago, he probably would just be like ‘Oh, don’t work. You just take care of the house,’ but that’s just not an option these days is it?”
Felicity Halstead, CEO & Founder of Good Work, an organisation that creates employment opportunities for underserved communities, tells the Mirror: “Young people are facing an increasingly challenging labour market, with competition for opportunities fiercer than ever and more young people finding themselves locked out of work, or stuck in insecure, low paid jobs with no progression routes.
“Many of the young people we work with report applying to hundreds of jobs without ever hearing back, affecting their confidence, motivation and wellbeing. Employers tell us that they get hundreds of applicants for every role, with the most accessible entry-level opportunities (such as admin and call centre roles) having decreased significantly in the past couple of years. Getting a job has become a full-time job and a specialist skill in itself…there simply aren’t enough good jobs to go around. This is a system-wide problem that requires investment from both government and employers to address.”
And Carl Cullinane, Director of Research and Policy at the Sutton Trust, said: “Alan Milburn’s warnings cannot be ignored. A generation of young people are being let down”. He adds, “we must also remember that some young people start out with many more challenges in life than others, particularly those from low-income backgrounds.”
The King’s Trust spoke to the Mirror about what advice they give. young people looking for work: “If you’re a young person not currently in education, employment or training, it can feel hard to know where to start – but support is available, and small steps can make a big difference. The King’s Trust encourages young people to focus on building confidence and practical skills, because these are often the biggest barriers to getting into work.
“It’s important to seek out support – working with employers, trainers or support organisations like The King’s Trust can open doors and help you access opportunities you might not find on your own.
“Taking part in short courses or programmes with organisations like The Trust can help you build confidence, explore different industries, gain real experience and develop key employability skills – as well as the opportunity to put you in front of employers first hand through one of our employability programmes. These opportunities are designed to give you a clearer idea of what kind of job is right for you, while also helping you build a CV and prepare for interviews. Our programmes are free, sector specific and work directly with employers, ready to hire young people across a number of industries.
“All young people have potential and deserve to right to achieve success. With the right support and a willingness to take that first step, you can build the skills and confidence needed to move into work or training.”
