It’s tough out there for anyone trying to find a job, one young worker said ahead of the Chancellor’s Budget.

Cheyenne Dawson, 20, applied for jobs after college but became discouraged after receiving rejection emails pointing out her lack of experience.

Mrs Dawson, from Walsall, then joined the Fairer Futures program – a 12-week project in co-operative supermarkets in the Mid-counties, which gives trainees access to personalized support, one-to-one mentoring and work experience.

Ahead of Wednesday’s budgetits founder called on the government to increase investment in skills to reduce youth unemployment.

The program is aimed at 18-24 year olds, in partnership with social enterprise food retailer Miss Macaroon, which has provided hundreds of young people with training opportunities in Walsall.

Thirty-two trainees have found work after completing the scheme and almost two-thirds of them have never had a paid job before.

“Youth unemployment in the West Midlands is still very high,” said Miss Macaroon co-founder Rosie Gandy.

“Social enterprises like us really need that support and investment that can bring commercial partners on board and allow us to scale the work we’re doing,” she said.

“Mayor Richard Parker has pledged to create 20,000 new training and jobs for young people, we need funding to keep this going.”

She added that funding must be focused locally.

“A young person in Walsall will need something different to a person living in Birmingham and Coventry,” she said.

“The biggest things I’ve gained so far … are improving my communication and especially my confidence,” Ms Dawson said.

“I was nervous when I started in the store, but I feel excited every day.

“It’s hard there. You just go on TikTok and see videos of people who have applied for multiple jobs and keep getting turned down.”

Around one in 10 18-24-year-olds in Walsall are currently claiming unemployment benefits – the highest rate since October 2021, according to the Office for National Statistics.

So far, Your Co-op store in Walsall town center has provided full-time jobs for three trainees.

Azhar Hussain, 25, said he learned basic retail skills in his father’s restaurant and, with support, hopes to become a leader in the industry.

“I was studying in college before my trip here. It was incredible, I learned how to grow in confidence and step out of my comfort zone.”

“I’d like my own business, like another co-op or a clothing brand store, that’s what I’m focusing on.”

Ahead of the Budget, there was a frenzy of speculation about a possible rise in employers’ National Insurance (NI) contributions, which business owners argued would make it harder to hire staff and create jobs.

But Labor has pledged to introduce a “youth guarantee” to deliver more apprenticeships, alongside a new national jobs and careers service, “to prevent young people being excluded from the world of work at an early age”.

Like Mrs Gandy, Liz Kendall, secretary of state for work and pensions, wants a more localized approach to upskilling the unemployed.

But the Tory party said the government needed to “wake up” to the “huge cost” the reforms would cost the taxpayer.

Ms Ginday set up Miss Macaroon in 2011 armed with just £500 – a passion for baking – and around 230 people have since found work through her training schemes which have branched out into retail and soon, in the construction sector.

She said the new grants and tax breaks will encourage and enable businesses to work closely with social enterprises to step up efforts to reduce youth unemployment.

“The region has a rich skills economy in manufacturing, and in the technology space – but for young people we’re hearing about a mental health tsunami, so providing funding for opportunities is something that’s needed, it’s really important,” said it. .