We’re helping locals gain the skills they need, but need more devolved powers to make a difference
3 min read
Soon after being elected Mayor, I met Ky – a 20-year-old whose life changed after securing an apprenticeship in construction.
His story was one of resilience. After getting caught up with the wrong crowd, it was someone recognising his potential that set him on a new path. Now, he’s pursuing a skilled career with pride and a purpose.
Stories like Ky’s are a powerful reminder of what good policy should do: unlock opportunity, especially for young people facing complex barriers. In the West Midlands, we’re working to ensure that support is not only available, but genuinely accessible and aligned to real-world prospects.
Youth unemployment remains a persistent challenge. Around 26,000 young people aged 18-24 in my region are claiming unemployment-related benefits. We know that being out of work impacts not only income, but health, confidence, and prospects – which in turn holds back our economy.
That’s why we’ve taken a locally driven approach to skills and employment. Since last May, more than 55,000 residents have completed training courses designed to meet employer demand and support people into good work. These are practical routes into sectors like health and social care, construction, digital and advanced manufacturing – the industries that will shape our region’s future.
Jake is one of them. He was a carer for his mum from age 13, missing out on education and leaving school with one GCSE. When she passed away, he felt completely adrift. But with the right support, he enrolled in one of our Sector-Based Work Academy Programmes and earned the qualifications to start a career inspired by his mum. He now works full-time at Sandwell Hospital and is building a future.
My mission is to make stories like Jake’s and Ky’s the norm, not the exception. That means shaping systems that reflect the needs of people and places, not policies and processes. Working with local employers, we’ve already secured more than 5,000 work placements and apprenticeships towards our goal of 20,000 new opportunities.
As one of eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, we’ve also received government funding to help over 1,400 young people with health conditions into work.
But real progress requires structural reform. To reshape education and skills for long-term success, we need full devolution of 16-19 education and employment support. Metro Mayors understand our economies, our employers and our people. I have had the personal conversations with the big employers in my region who tell me we need to target skills training regionally.
Mayors are best placed to ensure that education provision works across the country. A national framework should support this, enabling regions to design systems that reflect local realities.
Transport, too, plays a critical role. Our Workwise scheme provides free public transport for people starting new jobs from unemployment – a simple intervention that has helped over a thousand people each year overcome a real and immediate barrier to work. Cashflow in a new job can be a challenge, so we’ve broken down that barrier.
We’re matching skills development with investment in growth sectors. Investment Zones focused on advanced manufacturing, health-tech and green transition are helping us attract billions in private investment and thousands of skilled jobs. Knighthead’s £100 million investment into East Birmingham alone is expected to create 8,400 new roles. International investors increasingly see the West Midlands as a place of innovation and ambition.
These successes aren’t about one region alone. They reflect how targeted local leadership, backed by flexible funding and true partnership with business and government, can deliver growth that’s inclusive and sustainable.
My four priorities – growth, jobs, homes and journeys – form the foundation of that approach. They represent not just a local plan, but a blueprint for how empowered regions can help the country thrive.
Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands
