Zainab Ali: Youth Inspire CEO on the number of young people who are unemployed

Concerns too many young people are finding it too hard to find a job. 

15.2% of young people in the labour force are now unemployed, while 13.8% of all young people aren't in any employment, education, or training. 

Youth Inspire works to get young people in Lower Hutt into jobs. 

Chief Executive Zainab Ali told Ryan Bridge many of the people they're working with are really struggling.  

She says there's a rhetoric out there that if someone wants to work there's a job but promises this isn't the case.  

LISTEN ABOVE 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Unemployment up to five point three percent here at home
hire Since twenty sixteen, one hundred and sixty thousand people jobless,
fifteen to twenty four year olds fifteen point two percent.
That's up from thirteen just over thirteen in the year prior.
Zenab Ali is CEO of Youth Inspired with me this morning,
is Zaynab Good to have you on the show.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Good morning, Good morning, Ryan.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
Economists are saying this is the bottom of the rut.
We will come up from here. What are you seeing?

Speaker 2 (00:28):
Look, that's not how it feels on the ground at
the moment, Ryan, So it's one thing to look at it.
I suppose from a more academic point of view. We
know these things are cyclic. It doesn't feel like it.
We still have our local business partners in the business

(00:52):
community is still really struggling quarter at a time. We
know that for us here in our region, a local
business survey last month indicated that only twenty percent of
businesses are hiring. So yeah, I hope that that's true.

(01:15):
I've heard similar things in the past and it's gotten worse.
But we're really feeling it on the ground at the moment,
especially with our young rang Atahi.

Speaker 1 (01:25):
That's the problem, isn't it that you've got We've been
told so many times now that things are going to
get better. It's almost like the boy who cried Welf
you know.

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Yeah exactly, and it's all in hindsight. Oh well, you
know this factor this situation. But I think it's not
to make the situation, you know, a bad news story
or for business confidence to go down. But on the ground,
real people every day are really struggling. And I think

(01:57):
I think there's a rhetoric out there Ryan that it's like,
if you want to work, there's a job for you,
and I can promise you that it's not the case.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Yeah, not in all cases, one hundred percent. Zanam Ali,
really appreciate your time this morning. It's CEO Youth Inspire.
For more from Early edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live
to news Talks it'd be from five am weekdays, or
follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.