Politics · United Kingdom · 4 hrs ago
Manchester charity helps former job seeker return to education
Callum Atkinson, 23, spent months looking for work in Rochdale, Greater Manchester, after losing a finance job and falling into depression.
He said he applied for at least 600 or 700 jobs, often receiving an automated rejection or no reply.
He had been among the UK’s 981,000 young people not in education, work or training, a group known as Neets.
The Manchester charity Breakout arranged mentoring and work experience for Atkinson, who is now studying computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Salford.
His experience shows that having A-levels did not prevent him from becoming a Neet; he has three A-levels, and some young people in this group have advanced qualifications.
The government has asked former minister Alan Milburn to examine young people and work, with his final report due soon.
Breakout’s founder is concerned that large contractors could benefit from the recommendations without offering genuinely local support.
Callum Atkinson, 23, has returned to education and is studying computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Salford.
The Rochdale resident had been out of education, employment or training after losing a finance job and experiencing depression.
Manchester-based charity Breakout connected him with mentoring sessions and work experience placements.
Atkinson said he had applied for hundreds of jobs, often receiving automated rejections or no response.
Breakout was founded by Roman Dibden, who has personal experience of being out of education, employment or training.
- Who
- Callum Atkinson, a 23-year-old from Rochdale.
- What
- He has returned to education and is studying computer science and artificial intelligence at the University of Salford, with support from Breakout.
- When
- He returned to education recently. The articles do not give an exact date.
- Where
- Breakout is based in Manchester; Atkinson studies at the University of Salford.
- Why
- Breakout arranged mentoring and work experience placements for him after he had struggled to find work.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Atkinson’s last finance job ended after three months, following problems in his personal life and a spell of depression.
Atkinson said he was among young people not in education, employment or training.
Atkinson was directed to Breakout, which arranged mentoring and work experience placements.
Atkinson is an undergraduate at the University of Salford, studying computer science and artificial intelligence.
- Age
- 23
- Home town
- Rochdale, Greater Manchester
- Charity
- Breakout, based in Manchester
- Founder
- Roman Dibden
- University
- University of Salford
- Course
- Computer science and artificial intelligence
What people are saying
Maybe 600 or 700 at least. And the most I usually got back was an AI email saying, ‘I’m sorry, we’ve decided not to go through with your application, please try again next time.’ Or there was no reply at all.
My plan is just to get through university.
My fear is that will see the same big providers putting on a grassroots badge and carrying on like before.
But these are real human lives we’re talking about. We need people who actually get it.