IT goes without saying that summer and Saturday jobs prepare young people for careers in later life.

This early experience of the workplace develops ‘soft skills’, particularly in areas such as customer service, problem solving and time management, and builds confidence. And it demonstrates a work ethic on the CV, making young people more appealing as potential employees further down the line.

I have worked since I was 13. It started with babysitting for neighbours, then my first Saturday job, aged 15, on a market stall and later in a bakery. From there I had a succession of student holiday jobs - in factories, packing crisps and shampoo bottles; in pubs, where I learned to hand-pull pints of bitter; waitressing in a burger bar; and teaching English to Spanish children in a language school. One summer I worked in a factory by day and a local pub in the evenings. At that age I had the energy to hold down two jobs, and I enjoyed earning my own money.

It was expected of students to support themselves through the long holidays; most of my friends worked over summer too, in shops, bars and holiday camps. When a pal and I set off to Greece for a fortnight before starting university, it was a break that we’d earned, having spent most of the summer sweating it out in a factory.

Not working just wasn’t an option. I didn’t have the luxury of unlimited spending money, and from an early age I valued financial independence. So I find it staggering that the number of teenagers working while studying has more than halved since 1997. Now the Government has launched a drive to get young people working in the summer holidays, placing 20,000 posts on its Find a Job website. Posts across the Bradford district include hospitality and retail work on part-time shifts which can be juggled with higher education.

Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey says such jobs are vital to equip the younger generation with skills for post-Brexit Britain. But she warned a ‘cultural shift’ has seen teenagers focus on education and training at the expense of earning extra money and gaining work experience, leading to a decline in numbers working while studying, and a drop in those taking on Saturday jobs.

Lizzie Crowley, skills adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, says work experience is “absolutely essential”, and that many employers value soft or employability skills. “For a young person that enters the labour market having had no experience of paid work...they are at a considerable disadvantage,” she said.

Mike Spicer, director of research and economics at the British Chamber of Commerce, says young people who have experienced the world of work make attractive candidates, and “help to build a pipeline of work-ready talent for the future”.

One problem is that Saturday and summer jobs are harder to come by these days. When I was a teenager you could walk into a shop or cafe and land a job just like that. Now there are application forms and interviews, and a lot of competition. And some jobs don’t offer the hours or flexibility to fit in with studies.

Hopefully the Government’s pool of summer jobs, promoted online, will overcome such barriers and make it easier for young people to find suitable places.

Lolling around all summer living off the Bank of Mum and Dad won’t seem so great when you’re trying to explain those early work gaps in your CV at a future job interview.

* THIS week saw milestones for two extraordinary women. Monday was the 200th anniversary of Emily Bronte's birth, and the day Kate Bush turned 60.

I was 10 when I saw Kate Bush perform Wuthering Heights on Top of the Pops, wide-eyed and windswept, like Cathy's ghost. I was later captivated by Emily Bronte's haunting, complex novel.

Kate's recently-unveiled tribute to Emily, carved into a moorland stone near Haworth, leaves their remarkable legacies forever entwined.

* I FEEL the pain of passengers who became frustrated at the repeated use of Jess Glynne’s hit Hold My Hand on Jet2.com flights.

The song was first used in a TV ad for the airline on Christmas Day in 2015 and continues to feature in its marketing.

One passenger tweeted: “That Jess Glynne song still haunts my nightmares.” Another wrote: “This song was played like 30 times before take off and another 30 times after landing.”

It's beyond irritating when a pop song gets under your skin. I once worked in a shampoo factory (see above) and was driven slowly mad by the same songs played all day on the radio. Salt-N-Peppa’s Push It was particularly tiresome, 30 years on I still can't bear it. Nothing kills a song like overplaying it.