“NOT many people of today’s generation like hard work,” says former Darlington railwayman Albert Hawman in today’s Echo.

The comment by the one-time steam engine driver who is celebrating his 104th birthday will no doubt have some readers nodding their heads in agreement and muttering about the need for more youngsters to experience a bit of hard graft.

Mr Hawman makes an excellent point about the benefits of physical labour, but before we make snap judgements about the youth of today it is worth remembering that there are many hard-working young people in our region and thousands desperate to get a job.

Finding a first job has always been a difficult process. The latest figures on 16-to-24-year olds not in education, employment or training – known as NEETs –gives an indication of how difficult it can be in 2016.

Nationally, the number of NEETs has increased by 14,000 to 857,000 in recent months. The largest rise is in Yorkshire and the region blighted with the highest percentage is the North-East, where almost 19 per cent of all 16 to 24 year-olds are designated as NEETs, nearly twice as high as London and South-East.

In Britain today young people are three times more likely to be unemployed than the rest of the working population.

There are powerful economic, social and moral arguments that suggest the Government needs to make tackling youth unemployment a top priority. It costs the economy billions in lost productivity and tax revenue, and if migration does fall as a result of Brexit then it will be imperative to upgrade the skills and employability of our domestic workforce.

The Government has a strong record on job creation but it needs to do a lot more to create lasting careers, quality apprenticeships, and help young people from all backgrounds to get on in life. That will take a lot of hard work.