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Young people without work or education to grill politicians face-to-face at Westminster event

12 February 2010

Young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs) will quiz politicians on Wednesday 24 February about their policies for education.

The youngsters, who will be travelling to Westminster from around the country, will take part in a question and answer session with spokespeople from Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
 
The event at Westminster Central Hall is being organised by UCU. The UK has over one million NEETs and each of the young people attending has written a letter about their situation that will be delivered to Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg.
 
The young people taking part include:
 
Sibon, 21 from St Pauls in Bristol
'I come from a community where a lot of kids are on the street. I am determined to better myself but it is really hard. I simply can't afford to study what I need to pursue the career that I want. I have been helped out by a local organisation called Full Circle but the kind of work I would like to do is hard. There are jobs out there but they are dead end ones. There is no career progression which is why so many young people stay unemployed.'
 
Mohammed, 17 from Hodge Hill in Birmingham
'I left school at 16 and I have found it really hard to find a job. I would like to go on to further education but because I left with no GCSEs I cannot get a place at college. I have taken part in training programmes but they have not really helped me in any way. I feel there is lack of facilities and support services for people like me and politicians really need to start listening to young people and not just telling us what they think is good for us.'
 
Diane, 21 from Pontefract in West Yorkshire
'I am currently looking for a job and would like to study at college but it's really hard to find a course. Because I am over 19 they cost loads of money and I was forced to drop out because the funding I needed was delayed by two months. Politicians need to start listening or there will be more people facing the same obstacles as me.'

Last updated: 11 December 2015

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