Apprentices? You're hired

From the lock and key makers to the steel, chain, and boiler manufacturers that powered the vessels that ploughed the oceans of the British Empire, our nation has been built by generations of apprentices.

Today the Express & Star seeks to relaunch a great British tradition and get young people from all over the Black Country into work.

The need is pressing.

Wolverhampton, Sandwell, Dudley, and Walsall have some of the highest levels of youth employment in England – around double the national average.

A decline in industry and the closure of work training schemes has seen today's 18-24 year-olds facing it harder than ever before to get on the job ladder.

The biggest obstacle faced by young people is a lack of work experience and one of the greatest concerns for businesses is the low number of skilled employees.

Apprenticeships can provide a solution to both of these issues by giving young people their first step on the ladder to skills and experience. Often young people become disillusioned and start to believe they have no future, no hope.

Backed by the Duke of York, the Express & Star has joined forces with a team of expert partners to launch the Ladder for the Black Country. We are calling on small, medium and large employers from across the area to take on apprentices – even if it is just one.

And we are urging young people to grab this opportunity to learn, to train and to take the first steps of their working lives.

A key member of the Ladder for the Black Country is Walsall-based social enterprise charity The Vine Trust, which has a track record of taking on apprentices – and in many cases given youngsters who have previously been written off a second chance to shine.

Led by Kevin Davis, the charity has set up the Black Country's first studio school based at the £3 million Goldmine Building, in Lower Hall Lane, Walsall.

As well as teaching GCSEs and other qualifications, pupils also get weekly work experience.

They also run a successful apprenticeship scheme which has seen youngsters work at the trust's Vines restaurants in Walsall and Stourbridge, and with Swedish superstore Ikea in Wednesbury.

Mr Davis said: "Youth employment is not great. We have seen some improvement but it wasn't particularly good prior to the credit crunch that caused this.

"It was already difficult for some of the kids to engage with the good jobs long before.

"The Black Country and this region was at the heart of the industrial revolution. What I want to see is a new revolution in the way we work together to create jobs and get a generation of young people into the workplace where they can acquire the training and skills to enable them to flourish and prosper."

Manning the hotlines and bringing their expertise to the campaign is training provider Performance Through People which will be the link between the employers and youngsters seeking an apprenticeship and also the training providers including the City of Wolverhampton College.

Business development director Gill Durkin said: "Youth unemployment is a big issue. The Ladder for the Black Country will not exclude anyone – everyone will be able to engage.

"Recognising the value of apprenticeships is key to this campaign."

PTP are running the dedicated website ladderfortheblack country.co.uk and a hotline on 03332 409 699. Also playing a leading role in the campaign are the Black Country Chamber of Commerce and Walsall Council.

The economy has shown signs of recovery and unemployment is falling with the overall number out of work just over two million. But youth unemployment still stands at around 800,000 across the country.

A new report from the Work Foundation has highlighted the West Midlands as one of the areas which is suffering high youth unemployment. The Geography of Youth Unemployment: A Route Map for Change report by Lizzie Crowley and Nye Cominetti recommends local initiatives such as the Ladder for the Black Country campaign.

"No one agency alone can tackle youth unemployment," the authors state.

"It requires co-ordinated action from a range of organisations, including: policy makers; educators and training providers; employment support agencies; voluntary and community organisations; business representative organisations and businesses themselves."

It is time for action. But we need your help to help the 8,000 young people in the Black Country who have no job.

Every time we put a young person into an apprenticeship, we change a life.

It's a simple vision.

So are you a young adult and looking for work or is your son/daughter or neighbour? Then look at the website. Ask your company to take an apprentice. If you are a boss, please take on an apprentice. It doesn't cost much, but the benefits for each person who gains that first rung on the ladder, and for the Black Country, is invaluable.