Image Text:

MORE SUPPORT: Sol Campbell wants the Government and employers to invest more in young people

ENGLAND HAS a “problem” with young black males (YBMs) that has led to high unemployment rates, according to former professional footballer Sol Campbell.

The 38-year-old ex-player was speaking to The Voice about his six-month experience making a BBC Panorama documentary in which he followed a group of four YBMs job-hunting throughout the country.

“What I learned is that up and down the country you have a problem with young black males,” he said.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) says 49 per cent of YBMs aged 18 to 24 who are eligible for work are unemployed, a figure which is disputed for the Department of Work and Pensions, which claims the figure is one in six, taking into account those who are in education.

Nonetheless, the statistics are a stark reminder for the 73-time England capped defender that YBMs require more help in order to address the imbalance – the equivalent figure for white males in the age group is 21 per cent, according to the ONS.

Campbell was quick to point out responsibility is “shared” and cannot solely pinned on the unemployed.

“It’s not only on their part, it’s shared. Sometimes you can’t help yourself and get out of problems,” the ex-Gunner said.

“The system doesn’t really help them – bosses are not used to having YBMs working for them, maybe the YBMs don’t know how to present themselves properly in these environments, which is not their fault because it’s not the environment they’re from.

“I was in Toxteth [Liverpool] talking to some young lads, they were saying, ‘We have the education, we’ve got the drive, we may not be from the area you want us to be from, but we’re really good people and we can work. We’ve got degrees but there are still blockages preventing us from presenting ourselves.’

WATCH: Sol Campbell discusses YBM unemployment

“The problem should be rectified, because it’s costing the government a lot of money - £800m plus,” he added.

Campbell spoke about how employers are prone to implicit discrimination and choose the “easy” option by hiring people who remind them of themselves in looks and mentality.

“Employers and bosses have to look past what they’ve seen before. They say sometimes they want to employ people who look like them, and that’s a safety kind of thing – like you have the same mentality and looks as me.

“It’s a comfort thing.”

In terms of cultivating an innate sense of confidence, an attribute often lacking in many of those out of work, he said policy-makers should not be cutting funding to community projects that help YBMs, such as LEAP – a charity he mentions that uses role models to tackle youth unemployment.

“Role models [help build confidence],” he said.

“I went to a support group called LEAP, and they are fantastic. They’re in trouble at the moment, because they need funding.

“When you’re dealing with YBMs, there is a particular way you’ve got to treat them, to get the best out of them, and it almost rebuilds them and reboots them.

“It gives them confidence, allows them to understand the rules to engagement for when they are sitting down having a conversation with the boss. So they can say, ‘Forget my colour, look what I can do.’”

He added: “The government should be putting money into these specialised schemes to help them keep on going, because they are a integral part of the community. If they go, then everything else starts to crumble away.”

Jobs for the Boys? airs tonight on BBC One at 8.30pm