'I've applied for more than 400 roles' - how young people are facing the job shortage

Experts warn of a "lost generation" as over one million individuals under the age of 24 remain without employment or access to training programs that could lead to a career. This gap leaves young people in a state of limbo, struggling to establish their professional footing. Five young professionals shared their experiences with BBC Your Voice, revealing the personal and systemic challenges they face in today’s difficult job market.

Since completing college a year ago, Zaynah, age 24, has submitted applications for more than 200 jobs. Despite these efforts, she has received no responses from employers. A six-week charity program called Spear has been instrumental in helping her rebuild her self-confidence.

Zaynah had previously struggled with eczema, a health condition that hindered her passion for nail art. Her career goal is to work in makeup, yet she remains stuck. "Right now I've just been applying to make-up roles and make-up jobs in retail," she explained. Before her job search, she had never held a position. "I never worked before... I wasn't very confident at all. I was a very shy girl," she recalled. She noted a significant transformation: "Now I feel like [there is] a big difference from what I was, and now I can be more confident, I feel like I can hold conversations better now. Back then I couldn't, I didn't know what to speak about and I was very shy."

She attributes her lack of success to her limited background. "I think it's because of my lack of experience. I feel like in that way, it's restricting me and I'm not getting jobs." She also observed that uncertainty plagues her peers. "Some people our age don't know what they want to do, that's what is holding them back."

Luke, 23, graduated from Central Saint Martins University with a degree in product design. His job search has been exhaustive, involving more than 400 applications, yet he remains unemployed. He described the digital application process as "quite vile," citing repetitive requirements. "You apply, but then the [online process] wants to know the exact same information somewhere else in a different form. What you end up having to do is actually go through it again and redo all of it from scratch."

Luke challenged the assumption that a university degree automatically opens doors to entry-level positions. "Any normal person coming out of a university degree would think: 'Yes, I've got a degree. I am now open to all these starting, junior jobs'. You find out they haven't got the finances or AI has just replaced a whole load of jobs." The volume of rejections took a severe mental toll. "The amount of rejections definitely make you depressed. It's humiliating."

He began claiming Universal Credit in March of the previous year, a process he found deeply discouraging. "Entering into the job centres is really depressing. I felt a sense of rejection. The fact that everything I've done means nothing, in this day and age it is useless." He described a Catch-22 situation where he is underqualified for his desired field but overqualified for basic roles. "As you enter the job market that you want to go into, you don't have enough experience for that job. [And] you're overskilled for basic jobs... which I've done before. But once you've got that degree you are pushed aside as being overskilled."

His rejection letters included responses from roles in cleaning, barista work, café service, hotel reception, and restaurant waitering. He attended only one interview for a janitorial position, to which he was never called back.

Tarun, 18, faced an unexpected disruption when his grandmother died. He traveled to India, pausing his education. Upon his return, he found himself unable to secure work or continue his studies. "I started doing plumbing level two... but I had to go to India so they kicked me out," he said. "When I came back, I didn't know what to do. It's been like a year. I was looking for a work and education, but I couldn't get anywhere."

His job searches yielded the same barrier: a lack of experience. "I did apply for lots of things. I tried to do jobs as well... but they were like, 'you need experience' and I didn't have any experience." He felt trapped in a repetitive cycle. "I felt trapped. It was like a loop, going over again and again. I just felt lost."

With no external motivation available, Tarun turned inward. "I didn't have anyone to motivate me, so I motivated myself. I was like: I'll start doing rapping. So I wrote songs, I started rapping to entertain myself. That really helped me."

Eloise, 24, holds a first-class undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in English and creative writing. Despite her high qualifications, she has been unable to find work in her field. She has accepted a position in hospitality, noting, "Despite all my volunteering, work experience and degrees, I have had four interviews." She held a temporary role at a pub, but it was not her goal. "Two other jobs ghosted me and only one offered any feedback: an entry-level position told me I 'needed more experience'."

Desperate to be considered for roles, Eloise applied to jobs in Stirling and Edinburgh, using her brother’s Edinburgh address on her applications to bypass geographic bias. When this yielded no results, she faced a daunting future. "I am worried if I cannot get employment by the end of this year I will have to move back to my village in the middle of nowhere and begin a minimum wage-life where I will be trapped."

She felt isolated in her struggle, noting, "The only person on my masters who has a relevant job went back home to America for it."

Clover spent three years following professional advice, networking, and applying for positions. Now 20, he finally secured a job in retail, but it is unstable. "I got lucky. In the end it was a friend who worked there that vouched for me," he said. The position is on a zero-hours contract, meaning no guaranteed weekly hours. "It is fine. It is something and it is better than the majority of people have. But I'd like to be somewhere else, doing something else."

Clover pushed back against criticisms from older generations regarding youth work ethic. "I hear older people say younger people don't want to work, but it is because they are getting paid nothing for jobs they don't want to be in." He described a grim reality where most applications go unanswered. "I was on job sites and doing what I could to find work and nine times out of 10 I didn't get a reply back."

He observed that institutional support is insufficient. "Colleges and universities offer support for people to write CVs and to apply as efficiently as possible, but even with all the help in the world and hours of volunteering experience, it is always seemingly never enough."