HISTORICALLY poor education standards are a key reason for Bradford having the highest youth unemployment level in Yorkshire, according to a local training chief.

A new report today shows the number of young people out of work in the city has risen to 26 per cent, well above other Yorkshire cities.

The report from accountants EY and its charitable arm EY Foundation, which supports young people, says high youth unemployment levels could impact the UK’s aspiration to achieve “inclusive growth” at a time when the future supply of labour and skills is at the forefront of many employers’ minds after the Brexit vote.

The report revealed that youth unemployment across Yorkshire stood at 15 per cent.

Richard Hinchcliffe, chief executive of City Training Services, which runs a range of apprenticeship programmes, blamed the poor state of Bradford schools in recent years for making many youngsters unemployable.

He said: “What we are seeing now is those young people who were at some poor schools six or seven years ago coming onto the jobs market.

“There’s no shortage of apprenticeship places, we have more than 150 available now, but unfortunately, many youngsters are almost unemployable partly due to being the product of sub-standard schools at a critical stage.

“We are having to teach some youngsters the basics before they can progress with their actual training.”

Mr Hinchcliffe said that youngsters aged 19 and above did not get fully-funded training. whereas employers taking on 16-18 year-old apprentices were fully funded.

He called on all schools to collaborate with employers to offer work experience for pupils.

The EY report also shows that percentage of young people employed as a share of total employment in Yorkshire was the highest in the UK at 14.2 per cent.

Stuart Watson, EY senior partner in Yorkshire said: “Youth unemployment rates have fallen from the peaks we saw during the recession, when 40 per cent of the UK’s 16 to 17-year-olds were facing unemployment. However, a stubbornly high number of young people still remain excluded from the labour market, which could be further exacerbated if we see a period of weaker economic growth.

“Looking at this region as a whole, what stands out is that overall levels of youth unemployment are improving but pockets are still reporting much higher rates than the average with some cities affected more than others.

“These regional differences underline the importance of a co-ordinated response from Government and business to tackle the issues locally. This could potentially be accompanied by more devolution of skills and education programmes.”