Nearly 13,000 work experience, training and apprenticeship opportunities have been announced to help young West Midlands residents to secure promising careers.
Mayor Richard Parker said he is making substantial progress towards achieving the 20,000 opportunities he targeted upon launching his Youth Employment Plan twelve months ago.
The project involves working with local enterprises and partners in a bid to address rising youth unemployment whilst stimulating the regional economy.
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Mr Parker noted that youth unemployment in certain areas including Birmingham, Walsall and Wolverhampton stands at twice the national average, with some 28,000 young people classified as unemployed throughout the region.
Last month, the Mayor also unveiled his Growth Plan, which seeks to revolutionise the economy and generate 93,000 quality, well-paid positions over the coming decade.
He said: "I'm pleased we've now secured even more training and work experience pledges from employers across the West Midlands. We're making a real difference every day.
"This is what our Growth Plan in action looks like. We're backing young people with the skills and opportunities they need to thrive, while helping local firms grow the talent they need.
"By connecting people to good jobs in the region's fastest-growing sectors, we're not just changing lives – we're building our economy."
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Young people are being provided with access to training, education, careers guidance and other forms of support enabling them to take their initial step towards employment. The initiative includes work readiness programmes and school-based work preparation lessons.
Erdington local Daniel Harte, 25, had to abandon his chef career after developing an allergy to common kitchen chemicals. After spending a year unemployed, he enrolled in the West Midlands Combined Authority funded Engineering Path2Apprenticeship with Performance Through People (PTP) in October last year.
He attended the PTP Walsall Training Centre twice weekly to acquire welding skills from the ground up. During the programme, Daniel landed an apprenticeship at Rotadex Systems, a company specialising in engineering and manufacturing storage solutions.
He said: "Path 2 Apprenticeships made the learning very easy. It was fun and engaging, and the tutors were extremely helpful when I made mistakes – they always reassured me.
"But it also helped build my confidence I had struggled with interviews in the past, but the training gave me the confidence and guidance I need to present myself well and stand out to employers.
"I now have a great work-life balance, I feel happier than I have in years, and motivated to continue doing new things to progress my career."