'I look every day for a job but there is nothing'

Alfie is searching for a part time job in Sunderland

Towns and cities in north-east England are among the hardest places for young people to find work or training, according to a recent report.

Middlesbrough was ranked fifth from bottom on the Youth Opportunity Index 2025, while Newcastle, Sunderland and County Durham were also among the toughest places for young people to start a career.

The report, led by the Learning and Work Institute, analysed a range of factors, including education, apprenticeships and the quality of jobs available to 16 to 24-year-olds.

It comes as the Tees Valley Combined Authority has been given £5m by the government for a Youth Guarantee Trailblazer scheme.

Ranked out of 100 on the index, Sunderland scored 44, County Durham 43, Newcastle 40 and Middlesbrough received 31.

Katie is stuck between not having enough experience and not being able to gain that experience

Alfie is among those searching for apprenticeships or a part-time job in Sunderland, to earn money while at college.

"Me mam says back in the day there used to be loads of jobs, you just couldn't not have one, but now it's just impossible," the 17-year-old said.

"I look every night, every single day and night, I'm on my phone constantly looking and there is nothing at all."

In Middlesbrough, 17-year-old Katie said finding even part-time work is incredibly hard.

"I've looked on many websites and applied for many, many jobs and haven't heard back from any," she said.

"They want someone who is more experienced, but it is difficult to get that experience if no one is willing to employ me."

'Tackling generational poverty'

The government has funded Youth Guarantee Trailblazer schemes across the region to try to tackle the problem.

The pilot aims to stop people aged 18 to 21 from falling out of the jobs market.

Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said he was confident it would bring results.

"The five million pounds will largely go towards paying for placements for young people who are not in education, skills or employment, who were much further away from the jobs market, that have other challenges to be able to get into work," he said.

"Give them confidence and hopefully get them the skills and that means that we are tackling the issue of generational poverty."

The North East Combined Authority is one of nine where a Trailblazer scheme would focus on the health impact of economic inactivity.

Stephen Evans, from the Learning and Work Institute, hopes the programmes will help address the problems identified in the Youth Opportunity Index.

"One of the really shocking findings that came through this research is that more than half of young people who are not in education, employment or training say they've never had a job at all," he said.

"So we need to change that because they need the skills, but you also need to them gain the experience of work."