Never give up. You'll find an opportunity — I got into the BBC

Keen for an apprenticeship and with As at A-level, Tyreek Kasim thought his job search would be a breeze. But as the rejections piled up, he felt ground down. David Cohen tells how an employability charity came to his rescue

- David Cohen

WHEN Tyreek Kasim graduated from sixth form in the summer of 2020 with straight As and decided to turn down a place at university to apply for an apprenticeship, the last thing he expected was to wind up jobless and ground down by the system.

But this is exactly what the 19-year-old from Hounslow endured before his luck changed after doing a course at City Gateway, one of the charities we are funding to make jobless young people work ready as part of our £1 million Skill Up Step Up campaign in partnership with Barclays LifeSkills.

Tyreek said: “I began my job hunt last summer feeling buoyant and that because of my grades, it would be a breeze. I searched on UCAS and the GetMyFirstJob website and started applying for five apprenticeships a week, focusing on business, finance and digital marketing. I couldn’t wait to start earning and learning.”

But it was the first summer of Covid and, as the rejections piled up, Tyreek began to worry. “I made around 60 applications over three months and scored just two five-minute phone interviews — one with an accounting firm, who said my maths C for GCSE was too low, another with Lloyds Bank, who also turned me down. For months I was in my bedroom burrowing away making applications getting more and more discouraged. Many of my peers had gone to uni and I felt left behind.