Apprenticeships: Hard and stressful and not for everyone

Keesha Simpson recently completed a hairdressing apprenticeship

An end to youth unemployment. That was the ambitious promise from David Cameron before he was re-elected and we got more details in the Queen's Speech on how he hopes to make that happen.

Apprenticeships are a big part of the plan. The Conservatives say they will create three million by 2020.

In order to pay for that though they will have to make more cuts to the welfare budget.

That means unemployed 18 to 21-year-olds will no longer be entitled to Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) or housing benefit.

Twenty-one-year-old Keesha Simpson is someone the government might hold up as a success story.

She claimed JSA and housing benefit before completing an apprenticeship and then getting a full-time job as a hair stylist.

However, she says apprenticeships aren't for everyone and she thinks these changes are too tough on young people.

Keesha's story

"During my apprenticeships, I was only earning about £2.50 an hour. Quite frankly I could have sat on the street and begged for £1.25 an hour.

"The government would think I'm a perfect example of the system working, but I hope they know how hard it is for someone like me to succeed. I had to give up my JSA in order to keep doing my apprenticeship. I ended up in a lot of debt.

The government wants to create three million apprenticeships by 2020

"I've claimed housing benefit for most of the last couple of years because I never earned enough to cover my full rent. I was also on JSA for more than six months at a time because I couldn't find a job that would have paid more than being on benefits.

"I would rather have worked, but low pay was a real issue for me.

"Apprenticeships seem like a great way to go, but for me personally it was very hard and very stressful. I found it depressing at some stages and they don't guarantee a job at the end. I wasn't paid very much but my passion for hair kept me through it.

"Nobody should be living off benefits and living beyond their means, but I feel like the government should be more realistic about how they're going to get people into employment and how much apprenticeships help. They're ideal for people living at home with no rent commitments but that isn't everyone.

"The fact that the government wants to scrap housing benefit for unemployed 18 to 21-year-olds who don't have a job is just scary. How are you going to have these people find jobs if they don't have a house over their head. Some of these people can't stay living with their parents.

"I was homeless myself when I was 15 and I would not have survived without the help of charities. I was able to rent a room with the housing benefit that I received and that shouldn't be put at risk for other young people.

"I'm aware some people are leaving home because they think it's glamorous and want to be away from their parents even if they don't have a job and it's fair enough that they should have their benefits stopped. However, there are some people that need a hand up. It's not a hand out, it's a hand up.

"There's 35-year-olds, 40-year-olds, 45-year-olds who have been on benefits all their life and they're living very happily. I feel like the government should be cutting away from those people who have had more than 21 years of life to learn and educate themselves.

"When you are under 25 you're still finding yourself. Things that happen early in your life probably have an effect and by the time you're emotionally ready to build yourself back up you might be about 18-21. If you cut things away from people at that age they will never make it anywhere in society."

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