Below is my first draft of the youth unemployment story I intend to run as one of my secondary stories.
IS THERE HOPE FOR UNEMPLOYED YOUTHS?
AS employment figures rocket to a new high of 6.67 million, there are fresh local fears for the future of 16-19 year olds who are currently seeking work. The Cloud spoke to Bodmin Town Mayor Ralph Solomons to find out more about this frustrating situation for the Duchy’s youngsters…
“I think there is a very real concern for youngsters in Bodmin. We know that Bodmin is in the top five areas for unemployment in the Country and it is showing all ready because there are far too many young people out of work and wandering around the streets with absolutely nothing to do and really no futures” Solomons commented.
He added that this problem could have a negative impact on society at large because crime rates are rising as a direct response to unemployment; “We know from talking to senior police that recently there has been a mini crime wave in Bodmin.”
When we asked the question of why he believed this to be happening he said it seemed to be concentrated in an age group of about 15-19 years and we can only assume these are young people who have got nothing to do and no money. “They are resorting to crime to firstly give themselves self esteem and secondly so that they have money to spend.”
Solomons does however feel the future could hold fresh opportunities for Bodmin’s youngsters; “On a positive note we know that Bodmin is one of the few towns in Cornwall that is actually expanding. We have what we call a master plan, and within that master plan we can see over the next 20 years Bodmin expanding by nearly 50% and one can only hope that this will bring jobs with it.”
However, there are concerns regarding the quality of these jobs as Solomons says; “What we worry about is the quality of jobs because far too many Cornish youngsters leave Bodmin, leave Cornwall, to go to university and never come back. In fact my own three children were educated in Cornwall, went to University in Cornwall but have never worked in Cornwall. I think this situation is to the detriment of Cornwall in many ways. How to resolve that? I wish I new.”
“I think there is a very real concern for youngsters in Bodmin. We know that Bodmin is in the top five areas for unemployment in the Country and it is showing all ready because there are far too many young people out of work and wandering around the streets with absolutely nothing to do and really no futures” Solomons commented.
He added that this problem could have a negative impact on society at large because crime rates are rising as a direct response to unemployment; “We know from talking to senior police that recently there has been a mini crime wave in Bodmin.”
When we asked the question of why he believed this to be happening he said it seemed to be concentrated in an age group of about 15-19 years and we can only assume these are young people who have got nothing to do and no money. “They are resorting to crime to firstly give themselves self esteem and secondly so that they have money to spend.”
Solomons does however feel the future could hold fresh opportunities for Bodmin’s youngsters; “On a positive note we know that Bodmin is one of the few towns in Cornwall that is actually expanding. We have what we call a master plan, and within that master plan we can see over the next 20 years Bodmin expanding by nearly 50% and one can only hope that this will bring jobs with it.”
However, there are concerns regarding the quality of these jobs as Solomons says; “What we worry about is the quality of jobs because far too many Cornish youngsters leave Bodmin, leave Cornwall, to go to university and never come back. In fact my own three children were educated in Cornwall, went to University in Cornwall but have never worked in Cornwall. I think this situation is to the detriment of Cornwall in many ways. How to resolve that? I wish I new.”
Evidence of your drafting here Laura. You are being assessed on accurate use of language and register in relation to target audience so do make sure that the audience are going to connect with the words that you are using in the story. For example, how many of your friends refer to Cornwall as "the Duchy"?
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