"They are anxious about everything": the lives of young people seeking work in Dudley and Lewisham
Dejanae, a 19-year-old daughter, who studied animal husbandry, is struggling to find work in the West Midlands. She was surprised by the limited job opportunities available in Dudley, based on local employment conditions. She also finds it difficult to find work in Birmingham (10 miles away), as the bus journey takes two hours, which is often a deterrent for employers.
Challenges vary from poor transport links to a high number of people flocking to the area looking for work. When 19-year-old Dejanae set her online job search criteria for the local area, she was shocked at how few options came back. She studied animal science in college but is struggling to find work in the West Midlands. “It’s hard. You put Dudley, but it’s mainly jobs outside Dudley that come up because there just isn’t much here,” she said. “Even jobs in Birmingham (10 miles away) are difficult because I’m two hours away on a bus, so they don’t even want to consider me.”
