"How My Saturday Jobs Showed Me the Key to Getting Young People Back to Work"

THE Saturday job is dead. And that is a tragedy for teenagers in Britain today.

I was 14 when I got my , cleaning and stacking shelves at a make-up shop down the road from our flat in London.

The Saturday job is dead and that is a tragedy for teenagers in Britain today Credit: Getty Alan Milburn warns of a ‘lost generation’ at risk of being dumped on the benefits scrapheap unless they are helped, trained and found jobs Credit: Alamy

I’d dust the shelves, replenish the lipsticks and pocket about £20 for a decent day’s work.

Later, when I was in sixth form, I worked at a cafe at a local ­garden centre, frothing the cappuccinos and serving lunchtime paninis.

I loved that job. Yes, it was knackering getting the bus into work for 9am every Saturday, especially if I had been out on the Bacardi Breezers with my mates the night before.

But every week I would climb into my garden centre uniform T-shirt (it was far too big), get on the W3 bus and work a nine-hour shift for just under £30.

There were a lot of reasons I loved that . I loved the money. One shift would buy me half a pair of Diesel jeans — the absolute rage among us ­teenage girls in the Noughties.

I loved the independence it gave me. That sense of being grown up and standing on your own two feet.

After all, what’s more grown up than earning your own cash?

And I loved the people I worked with. One of my best friends, Naomi, had helped get me the job, and there was a little gang of us sixth formers who worked there on weekends.

We would take orders, steam milk and gossip about the ­latest romances and intrigues at school.

Those taught me the value of showing up and working hard.

I’ve had a job pretty much solidly for 25 years now, and those are still the two most important lessons I’ve learnt.

Most of my mates had jobs, too. Some swept up hairdressers. Another worked in . My brother had a paper round.

But sadly for today’s teenagers, the ­ is going the way of the dodo. It is becoming extinct.

Politicians seem to have finally cottoned on to this bad news.

Work and Pensions Secretary — who had a paper round when he was a teenager — said the death of jobs like that was ­fuelling a .

That crisis reached a grim new height this week with the news there are now one ­million 16 to 24-year-old — young people Not in Employment Education or Training.

That figure shames the country. We have more than anywhere else in , apart from Romania. Let that sink in.

On the same day, former Cabinet minister published his report into the NEETs crisis.

It is a damning indictment of our ­failure to help young people into work.

of a “lost generation” at risk of being dumped on the scrapheap unless they are helped, trained and found jobs.

So how have things got so bad?

Most Saturday jobs have been killed off by the toxic mix of high costs and employment red tape.

The for 16 and 17-year-olds is £8 an hour now. When it was introduced in 2004 it was £3 an hour.

Little shops and cafes used to be able to afford to take a chance on a teenager as an extra pair of hands. Now most don’t bother.

has also pledged to equalise the minimum wage for all adults, so 18-year-olds are paid the same as over-21s.

That might sound perfectly fair. But it whacks up costs yet again and gets rid of a teenager’s only advantage — that they are cheaper.

This is fuelling the crisis that has left us with one million NEETs.

That crisis is a tragedy for these young people.

And it is a catastrophe for the ­country.

Evidence shows that ­people out of work when they are young end up earning less for the rest of their lives.

To put it bluntly, NEETs are sicker, lonelier and poorer than people who work.

And it is terrible for Britain, too.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to ­figure out that having one million young adults out of work is bad news for our .

It means fewer workers and less tax to spend on public services.

But it also leaves us socially poorer.

We should not accept a life that sees our brothers, sisters, friends and children out of work and consigned to a life on ­benefits.

The Saturday job was the first rung on the ladder of work.

It let you climb up to better jobs and higher wages.

I scaled it all the way to Fleet Street. A little paperboy called Pat from Glasgow climbed it all the way to the Cabinet.

Getting young people into work should be a national mission.

Let’s start by bringing back the ­Saturday job by cutting the cost of hiring teenagers.

We cannot afford to duck this ­challenge.

Kate flick looks like a Moss-see

Kate Moss, played by Ellie Bamber pictured, is set to reveal all in a new biopic about her friendship with Lucian Freud entitled Moss & Freud Credit: Vertigo Releasing Model Kate with Lucian Credit: Stephen Butler

once declared that her mantra was the famous “never complain – never explain”.

Well, now the famously tight-lipped supermodel is set to reveal all in a new biopic about her friendship with Lucian Freud.

The film, entitled Moss & Freud, tells the story of how Britain’s biggest catwalk star forged a close bond with one of our greatest-ever during the nine months she sat for a portrait for him.

As a Kate Moss mega-fan, I can’t wait to see it. I’ll order my popcorn now.

TICKED OFF BY TIKTOK

Social media is obviously bad for teenagers whose brains are still developing and are under lots of peer pressure from others at school Credit: Getty

I REVEALED in The Sun on Sunday last week that .

Good. I think a ban is long overdue.

Now before I get on my high horse I should confess I am a social media addict who spends far too much time scrolling X hunting for political gossip.

And I have recently joined TikTok, where I post political news. And it is TikTok that has convinced me we should ban for kids.

Posting endless videos of myself has made me – for the first time in my life – self-conscious of my looks. My mood can rise or fall depending on how many views and likes my clips get.

And my attention span seems to shorten by the day. In the evenings, the thought-provoking history book I am reading goes untouched as I scroll through old Towie clips on TikTok.

In short, I seem to have regressed into a teenage girl.

This is all right for me. I’m old enough to put it in perspective.

But it is obviously whose brains are still developing and are under lots of peer pressure from others at school.

END THE ABUSE

Dame Helen Mirren was accosted by a vile thug who called her an ‘evil zionist bitch’ Credit: Instagram/ @antifascistactionuk

I WAS appalled to see a video of accosted by a man who called her an “evil zionist bitch”.

The thug rounded on the 80-year-old actress as she walked through London in the evening with her husband, below.

On the day that video came to light, the announced it had post-poned a Jewish Culture Month event because protesters had planned to disrupt it.

People are entitled to their political beliefs, but I am sick and tired of seeing people scream and harass others in the name of “protest”.

Pursuing an 80-year-old through dark streets and hurling swear words is not protest. It is abuse.

LESS OF THE FUN IN SUN

Britain’s new scourge of ‘selfish sunseekers’ have sparked fury on Hampstead Heath Credit: Alamy

BRITAIN has a new scourge – the “selfish sunseeker”.

These are antisocial folk who seem to have been sent half-mad by the .

They have sparked fury on in North London by putting on their bikinis and swimming shorts and taking a dip in the wildlife ponds.

This may sound like a bit of fun, but they are a menace to the ducks and their newly hatched ducklings.

And there are swimming ponds elsewhere on the heath that these people could have used if they needed to cool down.

Across the country, beaches and outdoor swimming pools have been overrun with louts causing mayhem.

Perhaps we should bring back the Asbo for these selfish sunseekers.

We could ban them from ice cream vans or getting sun loungers on the beach.

Either way, these selfish sods need to cool off and calm down.

A little Nessie ­cuddly toy from the local tourist shop Credit: Supplied

THE annual hunt for the is on – and this year, underwater drones are being used to scour the watery depths.

Enthusiasts from around the world have descended on the Scottish highlands in the hope of catching a glimpse of the legendary creature.

I’ve spent many an hour on Loch Ness hoping to see the famous monster myself.

Sadly, the nearest I came to the underwater beast was when I saw a little Nessie ­cuddly toy in the local tourist shop.

PINGU’S NEW PEN

EVERYONE loves ­penguins – which is why it was so heartbreaking to see the grim indoor ­basement they have been kept in at London’s Sea Life Aquarium.

Some 14 gentoo ­penguins had been in a small pool with no access to natural light or fresh air.

The bleak conditions sparked outrage and a campaign to move them to a happier home.

And finally, victory has come.

Merlin Entertainments, which runs the aquarium, says it will move them to a new “enhanced home” with more water and natural light.

It’s about time.