Dwayne shines at pre budget rally

Dwayne Foster, above, a member of the Midlands TUC "Future that Works" campaign team spoke at the pre budget rally held in London earlier this week. Dwayne's speech says it all - and is reprinted below.

 

Good evening.

My name is Dwayne Foster.

I’m 21 and I am unemployed.

In Dudley where I live over one in ten young people are jobless.

I’ve been struggling to find quality work for 2 years now - even although I have qualifications.

Employers say I lack the experience but it is hard to get the experience when nobody will give you a chance.

It is hard to find work when local businesses are closing.

It is hard to find work when you are competing with graduates for basic, entry-level jobs.

Today I heard that 2,500 people have applied for 22 jobs near me at the DFS store in Merry Hill.

I want to go to university and study social science and psychology but with tuition fees going up I can’t see this happening.

Young people like me need the government to help, so we can move on with our lives.

We need quality work experience, where you learn skills that will benefit you in the workplace.

We need better apprenticeships that lead to jobs and that pay more than £2.65 an hour.

We need schemes like the Education Maintenance Allowance to be brought back.

It is not right that young people are now being discouraged from going to college because they are afraid they won’t have enough money for travel or even food.

The government needs to listen and understand the obstacles young people are facing.

If you receive the JSA like I do you have to be willing to travel 90 minutes to work or for an interview.

This means relying on public transport which is becoming more and more expensive. This means having less money to pay for other things.

Young people like me don’t want something for nothing. We are willing to work hard, to put the effort in.

I want to earn enough to build a future for myself, to support a family.

But how can I realistically achieve this when my options are being narrowed by the day?

Before you cut any more, Mr Osborne, think about this.

Thank you