How I will tackle youth unemployment ­– mayor Parker addressed Labour conference

Richard Parker, who defeated Tory Andy Street in the May election, said he had already secured nearly 3,000 new opportunities.

Mr Parker told the conference that the West Midlands had the youngest population in Europe, but also suffered from youth unemployment of twice the national average.

He said he was working with businesses such as Severn Trent Water, Canadian engineering and construction giant AtkinsRealis, and the Rigby Group conglomerate to create 3,000 new placements. He said this was a major step towards the 20,000 apprenticeships he pledged in the summer.

"Every single young person in the West Midlands who wants an apprenticeship should be able to have one," he told the conference in Liverpool.

"That was my pledge, and in the first four months in the job, I’m already delivering on it."

Mr Parker acknowledged the severe housing shortage, and said was not just ;taking bold steps to invest in affordable, sustainable housing',but 'building communities where everyone has a place to call home'.

He said thousands of new social and council homes were on the way.

The mayor said he also planned to expand the Workwise programme, which provided free travel passes to help people who are starting new jobs.

"Over half the people who receive these say they wouldn’t have been able to hold onto their job without i," he said .

Mr Parker said a new £5 billion investment zone would create 30,000 jobs.

"When the West Midlands works and prospers, the country does too," he told the conference.

"The West Midlands is not just the heart of the country, we are the pulse of its future. A brighter, more prosperous future."