Construction company Wates urged the private sector to increase its support for young people and invest in greater training and apprenticeships opportunities to help reduce the number of NEETs in the West Midlands.

Having formed a three-year partnership with Ernesford Grange Community School in Coventry last year, Wates is keen to encourage industry to provide greater guidance and sector-specific expertise to school pupils in order to raise aspirations and improve employability post-education.

The partnership has been facilitated by Business in the Community (BiTC) through its Business Class initiative and involves Wates working with the school on a one-to-one basis to improve the employment prospects of pupils and deliver school improvements.

The latest regional statistics revealing the number of 16-24 year olds classified as Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) in Quarter 3 2011 were published on 24th November, with the West Midlands region showing a figure of 136,000.

This was a dramatic increase on Quarter 2's results of 117,000 - a rise of 19,000 or 2.6%.

The UK as a whole is showing a 3% increase - from 979,000 in Quarter 2 to 1,163,000 in Quarter 3.

Andy Hands, Business Unit Director of Wates Construction in the Midlands, commented: "The future of this region and the country as a whole lies with its young people and it is vital they receive the support they need to leave school as enthusiastic and employable individuals.

"We can't expect them to do that on their own. These latest figures show a disproportional representation for the North of the country and it is time for industry to step up and play its part. In return, we as businesses are provided with a highly skilled future workforce and the opportunity to make a tangible difference to the communities in which we work."

Helen Noble, Deputy Head at Ernesford Grange Community School added: "The support we have received from Wates so far has been overwhelming and it has already made a huge difference. It has been wonderful to see the impression the Wates team has made on the pupils; their presence in the school is helping to boost confidence and motivation as well as breeding a new generation of builders and engineers! We have also benefited from improvements to our school building thanks to Wates' donation of time and resources."