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Not all doom and gloom on jobs front
NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM ... says Geoff Ford of Ford Aerospace.
BUSINESS bosses in South Tyneside have come out fighting to defend the borough’s record on employment.
They insist the future is not all doom and gloom after the latest figures showed jobless rates are rising.
According to last week’s unemployment figures, 7,227 people, or 7.2 per cent of the working age population in South Tyneside, are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance – up almost 500 on the previous month.
And youth unemployment in the borough, affecting those aged 18 to 24, rose from 2,130 to 2,275.
Overall, 15.3 per cent of the borough’s working age population is jobless, compared with 8.1 per cent nationally.
Geoff Ford, MBE, 68, chairman of Tyne Dock-based Ford Aerospace, led the charge, saying: “The message from manufacturing is that businesses have employed the young people who have been pro-active in promoting themselves.
“They have used their initiative and sent CVs to potential employers and brought themselves to their attention.
“Employees have been impressed by the calibre of young people they have seen. The unemployment figures are disappointing, but it is not all doom and gloom.”
He added: “One manufacturer in the borough has just had the best year in its 65-year history, and another has had its second-best ever year in terms of sales and profit.”
Nigel Binnie, 48, co-owner of South Shields independent menswear stores Northern Threads and Edit Clothing, told of his frustration at the bleak picture being painted.
He said: “People are always trying to knock South Tyneside, but there is much good going on. People need to pull together, not knock the place.
“Businesses like mine are important. We employ 18 people full and part-time, about six of whom are under 21.
“We are advertising for two part-time staff and have had a good response. I’ve found that people here really want to work.”
Moira Shaftoe, education co-ordinator with Made in South Tyneside, an organisation aimed at inspiring schoolchildren towards work, said progress was being made.
She added: “There is a lot of youth unemployment but there are a lot of partnerships evolving in South Tyneside.
“These are working together to address this issue. I believe the future is a little brighter.”
And Independent Alliance councillor Gordon Finch, 73, said: “There are many things that could be better, but there is still hope around.
“Apprenticeships are there for young people, but I think the problem can sometimes be that they expect too much money at first.
“We need to become better at backing ourselves up, and standing our corner because we have to.”
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Comments
There are 18 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
hayley4315
Thursday, February 23, 2012 at 12:19 PMswap jobs for water,,, if this drought contiues, pity those attending Oily Games, dieing of thirst
wasthatthatguy
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 04:01 PMMr Hepburn wouldn't be asking the government to create new jobs, he would be asking them to transfer one of their "admin" departments out of London to Jarrow or Hebburn. West of the White Mare Pool roundabout "belongs" to Gateshead, but East of it, down to just beyond Follingsby Lane "belongs" to South Tyneside. Apparently, Mrs Thatcher persuaded the Chairman of Nissan to locate a car plant in the UK. Presumably, North East people ensured that it was located here.
Hebburnlee
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 03:19 PMThe government has just spent the last 12 months "streamlining" the public sector, so I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for it to create jobs, let alone new buildings. I think the land around Whitemare Pool will be inside the South Tyneside Council boundary on one side, and Sunderland City Council on the other, and all of it is probably greenbrown-belt and thus protected. As for your last point, Thatcher wasn't the last politician to take the credit for the work done behind the scenes by influential business-people.
wasthatthatguy
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 02:32 PMI was thinking a Longbenton style government department building could go on one of the smaller sites, to provide jobs rather than houses. I think there will probably be enough space for a car plant near White Mare Pool. Perhaps Mr Hepburn could ask the local land owners if they would be willing to sell their land? Then ask various foreign car manufacturers if they would like to build a car plant there? But, it may be better if Mr Hepburn asked Mr Cameron or Mr Clegg to approach the foreign car manufacturers, like Mrs Thatcher did re Nissan.
Hebburnlee
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 01:35 PMThe old testing site is ear-marked for further housing, and the site of the old college would be nowhere near big enough for a car plant (and the local road infra-structure would need to be radically altered). South Tyneside is a very, very small borough with little (if any) available land for a development the size of a Nissan operation.
wasthatthatguy
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 01:16 PMAlso, the site of the Hebburn campus of South Tyneside College?
wasthatthatguy
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 01:06 PMHow about the site of the big grey high voltage testing building, about to be, or currently being, demolished?
Hebburnlee
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10:20 AMThe Reyrolles site is now yet another housing development in Hebburn.
wasthatthatguy
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 10:12 AMThere's quite a lot of land near White Mare Pool, but it may not be easy to "obtain" for a car plant. As an alternative, maybe Mr Hepburn could arrange to build an office block where the Reyrolles tower was. To house a Longbenton style central government department.
Hebburnlee
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 at 09:14 AMThere isn't enough land in South Tyneside to have a car factory and the infrastructure it would require.
marcussmod
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 05:32 PMWhat Mr Ford doesn't acknowledge is that there is a huge imbalance in the jobs market regarding the supply and demand of labour. I know numerous graduates and experienced workers who have slick CV's and are still on the Rock n Roll. The problem is that this model of British capitalism is not creating enough jobs for all those who want one. To pretend there really isn't a problem regarding unemployment is naive in the least.
wasthatthatguy
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 05:20 PMWith due respect to Mr Ford and his companies, what South Tyneside needs is a car factory Ford Components, and other local companies, can make parts for.
Hebburnlee
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 03:53 PMWhat Mr Ford is saying is that rather than spending day after day looking at the same job adverts on the same websites and in the same newspapers, falling into the mundanity of unemployment, people need to be more proactive. So, just as in 'the old days' when people would be proactive and head down to the shipyard gates first thing every morning (and get turned away, depending on how much work was on), people now have to try to stand out from the crowd. After I graduated in the mid-90s, I worked for free for over four months, which led to employment with the company for eight years. When I tell some young (and not so young) people that, they say "I wouldn't do that, it's slave labour"! I wouldn't be able to do that now that I have other responsibilities, but when you're young, you've got very little to lose.
Blogsworth
Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 01:48 PMSo what Geoff Ford is saying is that young people are unemployed not because of the shortage of jobs, but because they do not have professional CV's and they do not know how to promote themselves.This in itself is an indication of an employer's market. In the days of labour intensive industry in the area, a CV or a flash presentation was not required to get an apprenticeship, it was just a matter of turning up.
wasthatthatguy
Monday, February 20, 2012 at 09:45 PMAlternatively, they could ask Mr Cameron or Mr Clegg if they can do it for them.
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