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National World - LocalTV
  • 03/06/2025
Young people in the North East are being left behind when it comes to jobs, education, and long-term life chances, according to two major new reports that have sparked concern among local leaders and campaigners.
Transcript
00:00Young people in the North East are being left behind when it comes to jobs, education and long-term life chances,
00:06according to two major new reports that have sparked concerns among local leaders and campaigners.
00:11The Youth Opportunity Index 2025, published by the Learning and Work Institute,
00:16paints a bleak picture of prospects for 16 to 24-year-olds across the region.
00:20Middlesbrough ranks fifth from the bottom out of 100 areas nationwide,
00:24while Newcastle, Sunderland and County Durham also scored poorly,
00:28placing among the most difficult places in the UK for young people to start a career or access meaningful training.
00:36The index measures key indicators such as access to education, quality of apprenticeships, job availability and local support services.
00:45Newcastle received a score of just 40 out of 100, Sunderland 44 and County Durham 43, well below the national average.
00:54The findings come as the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been awarded £5 million by the Government for a Youth Guaranteed Trailblazer scheme,
01:02aimed at addressing some of these challenges.
01:04However, local leaders say much more investment and long-term strategy are needed to reverse years of decline.
01:10These figures highlight the urgent need to tackle the lack of opportunities facing young people in our region,
01:16said a spokesperson for the North East Child Poverty Commission.
01:20Without action, we risk losing a generation to cycles of low pay, insecure work and poor prospects.
01:27I spoke with some of you to find out why you think the North East has scored so poorly and what you think needs to be done to tackle this.
01:34It's because the North East used to be the area with the most public communal experience, industry and social life.
01:49And it was the first place to be attacked by privatization reforms.
01:53And so as the entire country is hollowed out of programs that used to be the supports for people's lives,
02:03the North East is the most affected because it is the furthest away from the financial centers,
02:08which are the only piece of the English economy that is still active and able to create a middle-class life.
02:15You know what it is? Maybe it's like obviously the big uni, but it's not investing in the area that's around it for like,
02:21you know, for people who live here and we've got good unis,
02:25we need more attractions like businesses, do you know what I mean?
02:27People need to stay here, they come for uni, they stay in the North East and work, do you know what I mean?
02:31A lot of people just move south if you don't have their industry here.
02:34Instead of having the local people work retail, unskilled jobs, be paid very little,
02:43and then people who are able to access the university with a degree, with money from outside the North East,
02:50are able to get salaries in six figures and then that money goes either elsewhere
02:56or it's not going to support the rest of the community.

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