Across the West Midlands, there are 79,840 young people aged 16 to 24 who are not in employment, education or training - otherwise known as Neets.

When it comes to young people claiming unemployment benefits, six of the top 10 constituencies in the entire country are in Birmingham.

In fact, there are now so many 16-24 year olds out of work, education or training in Birmingham and the Black Country that they could fill every seat in Villa Park.

One of those is 17-year-old Mazeedah Adekitan from Dudley, who finished her college education earlier this year.

She wants to study medicine at university and has taken a gap year to save enough money to do so, but right now she is struggling to find a job.

"I've been out of college for three months now and I still haven't got a job, despite applying literally every day," she said.

"Whenever I apply online, I get a rejection [email] pretty much seconds [after] I put in my CV, even though I take my time to tailor my CV," she said.

"By the afternoon, I literally get rejections, automatic AI rejections from entry level jobs. I'm trying my best and it's not really being seen."

The 17-year-old thinks the government could help by providing tailored CV advice and mentorship to prospective job applicants.

But what have the various political parties committed to do to help Neets?

At its conference at the NEC in Birmingham, Reform UK promised to subsidise the wages of any young apprentices taken on by small and medium-sized firms.

The Liberal Democrats promised to end what is currently a lower minimum wage for apprentices and set out a fairer code of conduct for employers.

Labour has promised to expand its existing jobs guarantee programme, a scheme which gives young people who've been unemployed long-term a fully funded six-month job placement.

However, the Green Party has gone further and has proposed two-year government backed jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds, starting in the areas with the fewest opportunities.

This week in Birmingham, the Conservatives proposed toughening up support for long-term claimants, while at the same time halving national insurance for businesses taking on people in their early 20s.

Speaking to BBC Politics Midlands, Nigel Huddleston accused Labour of attacking the private sector and making it more expensive to hire people.

The Conservative MP for Droitwich and Evesham said: "It does seem some of the sectors that used to employ young people most are the hardest hit.

"Why? Because of massive increases in national insurance, increases in business rates, both of which, by the way, we have committed to reduce.

"But more than that, regulations on businesses, energy costs going up because they're refusing to drill in the North Sea."

He added these were "deliberate, conscious Labour Party policies causing unemployment".

However, Labour's MP for Coventry East, Mary Creagh, said: "To hear the Conservatives saying that they're going to have a magic wand and fix all of this, this happened on their watch.

"Youth unemployment was at 720,000 in 2022, and it soared to over a million in the two years before the general election."

She said youth unemployment was also an issue in Coventry, particularly in the areas of Foleshill and Henley, where the figure was around 10%.

However, she said the city council was running job shops to support people looking for jobs, education or training.

She also mentioned a construction skills hub was being set up in Coventry by the West Midlands Combined Authority, the council and Hill Group to train 12,000 local people in construction skills over the next three years.

Ellie Chowns, the Green Party MP for North Herefordshire, said the issue was not with the Labour government's policies, but a bigger issue.

She cited the impacts of Covid-19 and AI, as well as the difficulties of providing work experience.

"I've spoken to so many young people who've put out dozens, hundreds of job applications sometimes and just keep on getting knocked back," she said.

"It has to start with recognising government has an important role to play in helping young people to succeed.

"That isn't just making sure that they've got some money coming in each week to live on, but [by] supporting people with job hunting, CVs and so forth, supporting people with practice interviews maybe."

For 21-year-old Liam Peers, from Hodge Hill, the issue of youth unemployment is not just a political debate.

He has been unemployed for almost two years, despite repeatedly replying for different jobs.

"I've just gotten used to hearing, 'oh, sorry, sorry'. But I know I can do it," he said.

Peers says he has benefited from certain programmes because he is on Universal Credit, but believes volunteering for Acorns Children's Hospice has been the best help through the experience it has given him.

For Peers, what needs to be done is to publicise the work programmes that political parties have spoken about.

"I don't hear about them, I haven't seen them enforced. They need to be known, tell people on the credit about it," he said.

BBC Politics Midlands will be asking which political party has the right solution to solve youth unemployment? From 10:00 BST on 11 October on BBC One and iPlayer.

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