Mazeedah Adekitan，17岁，正努力寻找工作，同时试图攒钱去学医。Elizabeth Glinka，西米德兰兹政治编辑。Eleanor Lawson，西米德兰兹。2026年10月11日。在西米德兰兹地区，有79,840名16至24岁的年轻人既不就业，也不接受教育或培训——即所谓的“Neets”。
Mazeedah Adekitan, 17, is struggling to find a job while trying to save up to study medicine Elizabeth Glinka West Midlands political editor Eleanor Lawson West Midlands 11 October 2026 Across the West Midlands, there are 79,840 young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training - otherwise known as Neets. When it comes to young people claiming unemployment benefits, six of the top 10 constituencies in the entire country are in Birmingham.
谈到领取失业救济金的年轻人，全国前10个失业救济金领取人数最多的选区中，有6个位于伯明翰。
事实上，伯明翰和黑乡地区现在有如此多的16至24岁年轻人既不就业、也不接受教育或培训，他们的人数足以填满维拉公园球场的每一个座位。
In fact, there are now so many 16-24 year olds out of work, education or training in Birmingham and the Black Country that they could fill every seat in Villa Park.
其中一人就是来自达德利的17岁Mazeedah Adekitan，她今年早些时候刚完成大学教育。
One of those is 17-year-old Mazeedah Adekitan from Dudley, who finished her college education earlier this year.
她希望在大学学习医学，为此已经间隔一年来攒够学费，但目前她正努力寻找工作。
She wants to study medicine at university and has taken a gap year to save enough money to do so, but right now she is struggling to find a job.
“我已经离开大学三个月了，尽管我几乎每天都在申请工作，但仍然没有找到工作，”她说。
"I've been out of college for three months now and I still haven't got a job, despite applying literally every day," she said.
Adekitan住在Merry Hill购物中心附近，她一直在商店之间走动，向潜在雇主递交简历，但被告知所有申请都必须在线进行。
Adekitan lives near Merry Hill shopping centre and has been going into shops to hand in her CV to potential employers, but has been told all applications are online.
“每次我在线申请时，我基本上在提交简历几秒钟后就会收到一封拒绝邮件，尽管我花时间仔细定制了我的简历，”她说。
"Whenever I apply online, I get a rejection [email] pretty much seconds [after] I put in my CV, even though I take my time to tailor my CV," she said.
“到了下午，我实际上会收到来自入门级职位的自动AI拒绝邮件。我已经尽力了，但我的努力似乎没有被看到。”这位17岁的女孩认为，政府可以通过为求职者提供定制化的简历建议和 mentorship（导师指导）来提供帮助。但各政党承诺为Neets做些什么？
"By the afternoon, I literally get rejections, automatic AI rejections from entry level jobs. I'm trying my best and it's not really being seen." The 17-year-old thinks the government could help by providing tailored CV advice and mentorship to prospective job applicants. But what have the various political parties committed to do to help Neets?
在伯明翰NEC举行的党代会上，改革英国承诺为中小企业雇佣的任何年轻学徒提供工资补贴。
At its conference at the NEC in Birmingham, Reform UK promised to subsidise the wages of any young apprentices taken on by small and medium-sized firms.
自由民主党承诺废除目前针对学徒的较低最低工资标准，并制定一套更公平的雇主行为准则。
The Liberal Democrats promised to end what is currently a lower minimum wage for apprentices and set out a fairer code of conduct for employers.
工党承诺扩大其现有的就业保障计划，该计划为长期失业的年轻人提供全额资助的六个月工作岗位。
Labour has promised to expand its existing jobs guarantee programme, a scheme which gives young people who've been unemployed long-term a fully funded six-month job placement.
然而，绿色党进一步提出，为18至24岁的年轻人提供两年期的政府支持工作岗位，起始于机会最少的地区。
However, the Green Party has gone further and has proposed two-year government backed jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds, starting in the areas with the fewest opportunities.
本周在伯明翰，保守党提出加强对长期失业者的支持，同时将为雇佣20岁左右年轻人的企业减半国家保险。
This week in Birmingham, the Conservatives proposed toughening up support for long-term claimants, while at the same time halving national insurance for businesses taking on people in their early 20s.
西米德兰兹议员在BBC政治米德兰兹节目中讨论了青年失业问题。在接受BBC政治米德兰兹节目采访时，尼格尔·赫德尔斯顿指责工党攻击私营部门并使雇佣人员变得更加昂贵。
West Midlands MPs discussed the issue of youth unemployment on BBC Politics Midlands Speaking to BBC Politics Midlands, Nigel Huddleston accused Labour of attacking the private sector and making it more expensive to hire people.
德罗伊特威奇和伊夫舍姆的保守党议员表示：“看来过去雇佣年轻人最多的某些行业如今受到的打击最严重。
The Conservative MP for Droitwich and Evesham said: "It does seem some of the sectors that used to employ young people most are the hardest hit. "Why?
“为什么？因为国家保险和商业税都大幅上涨，顺便说一下，我们已经承诺要降低这两项费用。
Because of massive increases in national insurance, increases in business rates, both of which, by the way, we have committed to reduce.
“除此之外，企业面临的监管也在增加，能源成本上升，因为他们拒绝在北海钻探。”他补充说，这些是“蓄意的、有意识的工党政策，导致失业”。
"But more than that, regulations on businesses, energy costs going up because they're refusing to drill in the North Sea." He added these were "deliberate, conscious Labour Party policies causing unemployment".
然而，工党考文垂东选区议员玛丽·克里格表示：“听保守党说他们将挥动魔杖解决所有问题，这发生在他们执政期间。
However, Labour's MP for Coventry East, Mary Creagh, said: "To hear the Conservatives saying that they're going to have a magic wand and fix all of this, this happened on their watch.
“2022年青年失业人数为72万，而在大选前的两年里，这一数字飙升至超过一百万。”她说，青年失业在考文垂也是一个问题，特别是在福尔斯希尔和亨利地区，失业率约为10%。
"Youth unemployment was at 720,000 in 2022, and it soared to over a million in the two years before the general election." She said youth unemployment was also an issue in Coventry, particularly in the areas of Foleshill and Henley, where the figure was around 10%.
然而，她表示，市议会正在运营就业服务点，以支持寻找工作、教育或培训的人。
However, she said the city council was running job shops to support people looking for jobs, education or training.
她还提到，西米德兰兹联合管理局、议会和希尔集团正在考文垂建设一个建筑技能中心，计划在未来三年内为12,000名当地人提供建筑技能培训。
She also mentioned a construction skills hub was being set up in Coventry by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the council and Hill Group to train 12,000 local people in construction skills over the next three years.
北赫里福德郡的绿党议员埃莉·乔恩斯表示，问题不在于工党政府的政策，而是一个更大的问题。
Ellie Chowns, the Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, said the issue was not with the Labour government's policies, but a bigger issue.
她指出，新冠疫情和人工智能的影响，以及提供工作经验的困难，都是导致这一问题的因素。
She cited the impacts of Covid-19 and AI, as well as the difficulties of providing work experience.
“我曾与许多年轻人交谈，他们有时投递了几十份、甚至上百份求职申请，却一直被拒绝，”她说。“这必须从认识到政府在帮助年轻人成功方面发挥重要作用开始。
"I've spoken to so many young people who've put out dozens, hundreds of job applications sometimes and just keep on getting knocked back," she said. "It has to start with recognising government has an important role to play in helping young people to succeed.
这不仅仅是确保他们每周都能拿到一些钱来维持生计，而是[通过]在求职、简历制作等方面支持他们，也许还要提供模拟面试的支持。” 21岁的利亚姆·皮尔斯尽管申请了无数份工作，却仍然失业近两年。
"That isn't just making sure that they've got some money coming in each week to live on, but [by] supporting people with job hunting, CVs and so forth, supporting people with practice interviews maybe." Liam Peers, 21, has been unemployed for almost two years despite applying for countless jobs For 21-year-old Liam Peers, from Hodge Hill, the issue of youth unemployment is not just a political debate.
对于来自霍奇希尔的21岁利亚姆·皮尔斯来说，青年失业问题不仅仅是一场政治辩论。他已经失业近两年，尽管他一直在不断申请不同的工作。
He has been unemployed for almost two years, despite repeatedly replying for different jobs.
“我已经习惯了听到‘哦，对不起，对不起’这样的话。但我知道我能行，”他说。
"I've just gotten used to hearing, 'oh, sorry, sorry'. But I know I can do it," he said.
皮尔斯表示，由于他领取普惠福利（Universal Credit），他从某些项目中受益了，但他认为，为阿科恩斯儿童 hospice（儿童临终关怀机构）做志愿者是他在这段经历中获得的最大帮助。对皮尔斯而言，需要做的是宣传政党们曾谈论过的工作项目。
Peers says he has benefited from certain programmes because he is on Universal Credit, but believes volunteering for Acorns Children's Hospice has been the best help through the experience it has given him. For Peers, what needs to be done is to publicise the work programmes that political parties have spoken about.
“我没有听说过这些项目，也没有看到它们被落实。它们需要被人们所知晓，需要告诉领取福利的人这些信息，”他说。
"I don't hear about them, I haven't seen them enforced. They need to be known, tell people on the credit about it," he said.
做 s，[并]让它为人所知，因为我认为信息缺乏是最大的问题之一。BBC 政治米德兰兹将询问哪个政党拥有解决青年失业问题的正确方案？10月11日英国夏令时间上午10:00在BBC One和iPlayer播出。
"Do s, [and] get it known, because the lack of information I think is one of the biggest problems." BBC Politics Midlands will be asking which political party has the right solution to solve youth unemployment? From 10:00 BST on 11 October on BBC One and iPlayer.