Mayor Richard Parker calls on business leaders to deliver 20,000 jobs and opportunities for young people

Mayor of the West Midlands, Richard Parker, hosted a key round table, bringing together senior representatives from major regional employers to discuss ways of addressing youth unemployment and the critical role key businesses can play in shaping the future for young people.

Businesses who attended the round table included HSBC, Balfour Beatty, Balfour Beatty VINCI, Seven Trent PLC, JLR, AtkinsRealis, Mitchells & Butlers, NHS, BBC, and Berkeley Group

The Mayor emphasised the importance of collective action. He said: "This is about more than just filling vacancies - it's about creating fantastic employment opportunities for our young people. We must equip them with the skills that will land them a career with the industries of tomorrow.

“By working together - businesses, training providers, and local communities - we can create real opportunities for our youth, making the West Midlands not only a hub for local talent, but a competitive place for businesses to invest and grow.

“The region's future depends on this collaboration, and I want to give our young people the best possible start in life.”

The Mayor added: "My pledge to create 20,000 work and training opportunities is at the heart of this. These leading businesses in our region understand the importance of opening their doors to provide meaningful placements and offer the training that prepares young people for the future.

“But what was clear to me from our discussion, is that we need to further support businesses - that’s why I’ll work with government to reduce barriers, so our young people can succeed, and businesses can grow."  

During the roundtable, BBC Studios said it is tackling the issue of unadvertised jobs in the freelance industry by developing a central repository of talent, aiming to create better visibility and opportunities for freelancers to connect with available work.

Paul Capper, Vocational learning manager, Mitchells & Butlers said: “We run a multi award-winning apprenticeship programme.  We are passionate about supporting apprentice talent within hospitality, the UK’s fourth largest industry sector.  Opportunities with us are vast, throughout their development our learners become equipped with key life skills and professional qualifications whilst working within a fast paced and friendly environment. 

“As a midlands founded company, we are committed to further developing these opportunities by working collectively with the Mayor of the West Midlands and other leading businesses, to continue to shape the future for young people within the region and building a brighter tomorrow.”

Neil Morrison, Severn Trent HR Director said: “We welcome the Mayor’s 20,000 pledge, as we’re also leaning into the challenges young people face and believe that true collaboration is key in helping to provide jobs and opportunities. It’s why we first rolled out our employability and school outreach programme here to help reach young people, as well as providing tangible, meaningful work opportunities, like taking on 500 work experience placements and offering our ever-growing apprenticeship, graduate and internship programme to positively shape a young person from the West Midlands future.”

Dan Heffernan, Strategic Social Value and Employment Lead, AtkinsRéalis: “As a major employer in the West Midlands, we have both a vested interest and a societal obligation to support our local communities in ensuring we play an active role in reducing youth unemployment, which is a vital part of driving economic growth in the region.

“The Mayor’s Youth Promise will act as a catalyst for change ensuring businesses of all sizes are able to collaborate and come together to address one of the West Midland’s most pressing challenges.

“This event was the exciting first step in ensuring that together with WMCA, the business community can ensure that no young person is left behind, and that they can go on to build a legacy for themselves and those around them.”

Shajeda Ahmed, Chief People Officer at NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board, said: “It was a privilege to attend the Mayor’s round table event and engage in the discussion with large employers as to how we can support our young people.

"As Chief People Officer, I am committed to using our position as an anchor institution to create purposeful employment opportunities to our local community; generating our future health and care workforce whilst addressing huge inequalities within our population.

"I’m proud to work with employers across the West Midlands to achieve this ambition.”