The Prince's Trust calls for action over lockdown 'lost generation'

Sophie Charrington and Murray Hitchens, from The Music Trip, said "if you can start a business in a global pandemic, you can do anything"

Action is needed to stop young people hit hard by unemployment during the pandemic becoming a "lost generation", the Prince's Trust has said.

The trust said 40% of 16-25-year-olds in Bristol are "losing hope" and employers, government and charities must "work together" to support them.

Designer Eva Gilder-Hodgson said a trust grant had given her "confidence to adapt rather than feel defeated".

Across the UK, under-25s have been hit hardest by unemployment in lockdown.

Since March, the trust has helped about 2,000 young people in Bristol.

Bruno Clarke, of the trust, said their research showed the pandemic had "done more than disrupt vital education, training and job opportunities for young people across Bristol".

"It has eroded their confidence in their future prospects, to a point where some feel they won't ever be able to succeed in life," he said.

"I knew I would need to adapt fast to keep Blue Coats Studio afloat," Eva Gilder-Hodgson said

Eva Gilder-Hodgson, 26, set up Blue Coat Studio last year and designs furniture using recycled materials, with her main clients being independent businesses.

"With the extreme strain put on independents due to the pandemic, I knew demand for my design services would decrease quickly," she said.

"At the time of lockdown Blue Coats Studio was just picking up speed, then one by one, lined-up projects began to cancel."

She was helped by the trust's relief fund for newly self-employed people who "like myself had fallen between the government's safety net".

Murray Hitchens and Sophie Charrington had to move back to their parents to give their business "a chance of surviving"

Sophie Charrington and Murray Hitchens, both 24, founded The Music Trip and create music experiences using Virtual Reality and other immersive media.

"As The Music Trip originated as an events company, the cancellation of all outdoor and indoor live music and major events forced us to re-evaluate our whole business model if we were to continue trading," they said.

"Our first ever commissions and upcoming projects, including content production and trading at Glastonbury, were all quickly cancelled and painfully we were left with no business by April."

Peter White is a key worker and has worked throughout lockdown

Pete White, 28, who had always had an ambition to be a train driver, approached the Princes Trust in 2016 after being on long-term benefits.

He took part in the Get Into Customers Services programme run by the trust and Great Western Railway and has been employed on the railways ever since.

'Inspiring examples'

After a week of training - which was originally postponed because of the pandemic - Mr White said he felt "incredibly lucky".

"My overwhelming feeling looking at the news is that young people have it stacked against them in a lot of ways," he said.

"But there are opportunities out there and the Princes Trust helped me. I'm looking forward to being a qualified train driver."

Mr Clarke said it was "truly a responsibility for all of us to ensure the odds don't stay stacked against this generation, by supporting them to upskill, retrain and access job opportunities".

"Sophie, Murray, Eva and Pete are such inspiring examples of young people who have seized opportunities and worked hard to improve their futures," he added.