Job vacancies: 'I still can't find any work'

Maisie has been looking for a job for more than a year

Heard the good news?

Lots more people are in work than during the pandemic, with the highest number of job rises for people under 25 years old.

There was an increase of 441,000 employees on payrolls in that age group in the last year. But, it doesn't help if you're not one of them.

Now one of the UK's biggest business groups says we are beginning to see a widening of the skills gap, preventing some from getting back into work.

"I do have my GCSEs but the expectations are so unrealistic," Says Maisie Kay, 17, who's looking for a job near Bury in Greater Manchester.

She has cerebral palsy, which affects her movement and co-ordination and feels the skills gap is growing for people like her.

'I'd work for any company'

Maisie feels she would perform better in interviews if she was taught how to use more software, like spreadsheets and Excel.

"[They say] I should be a bit more confident and speak more clearly."

Her perfect job would be "business administration, doing calls, working from a desk" and is determined to find a place that works around her disability.

But those dreams have proved tricky: "I'd work for any company that would hire me, desperate times call for desperate measures."

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says a growing skills gap - where people don't have the qualifications for a role - is why many jobs can't get filled.

There are concerns this could slow the jobs recovery as people don't know where to get the training they need.

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The high number of vacancies also suggests there is now a mismatch between the jobs people want and the ones that are available.

"Businesses throughout the UK tell us they cannot access the skills they need, even as their costs balloon," James Martin from the BCC says.

'I feel I'm not capable'

It's not just about getting a job, but getting a good wage.

Wages are rising - but there are large differences in the increases across the country.

Workers in Manchester saw average rises of 7.4% in the last year, while those in Enfield, in north London saw a rise of just 1.7%.

Jayde White, 25 from Wickford in Essex has spent years working in a nursery.

She's currently filling in full-time as a factory worker but wants to move onto a job with better pay and opportunities, yet comes up against a skills gap in interviews.

"It does make me feel like I'm not capable of doing anything. That I'm just not good enough. It makes you quite down thinking that you can't do something else."

Jayde is looking for a role with higher pay

Jayde's frustrated as she feels employers haven't been considering all the transferable skills she has from her experience in nurseries.

She's looking for a job as a family support worker or for mental health work but feels she needs more training to get there.

Jayde says she "needs something that's more stimulating to put my organisational skills to use".

If you have the skills, job vacancies are at a record high.

Areas of the economy that had large increases included accommodation and food services, professional activities and manufacturing. Hospitality is the sector with the most vacancies per 100 workers.

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