Channel 4 puts up its Battlefront once more

This year Battlefront has scoured the country for unemployed and underemployed young people, to run 2012’s Battlefront campaign. In a first for Battlefront, they have offered four of these young people a full time job for three months, as part of the Channel 4 production team.

Each will campaign on youth unemployment and will work with their own celebrity mentor: James Caan from Dragons’ Den, Fairy Jobmother Hayley Taylor, Mr Drew from Educating Essex, Alastair Campbell and Metro’s John Higginson. They will chart their experiences online at channel4.com/battlefront

The young campaigners include 20-year-old Chelsie, from South East London, who has been unemployed since finishing her A-Levels, “I must have applied for 100-plus jobs… it’s a myth that people on the dole are lazy, there’s so many people that really, really want to get a job.” While Myles, from Walsall in the West Midlands, is 22 years old. He left university in May and moved back in with his parents to save money, he says: “I feel very trapped in this situation… Everyone says it’s the best years of your life, you know. But no money to do anything, nothing is changing, all I can do is keep applying and trying.”

Hayley Taylor aka Channel 4’s Fairy Jobmother, says, “Being a mentor on Battlefront allows me to make a contribution towards helping young people to find and sustain employment and make a difference to not only their life but the lives of other young people who find themselves in the same position. Campaigning for employers and the government to sit up and take notice is essential, as youth unemployment is the most pressing economic issue that the country currently faces.”

Last year, the Battlefront campaigners achieved some fantastic results. They signed up thousands of new organ donors, got government ministers talking about young people’s mental health, lobbied for 1000 new work experience places for young people, raised awareness about the danger to Orangutans from unsustainable palm oil, and got young people to start playing a sport they love.

Kealy from West London, is a single mum of two and has been living on benefits for the last four years. She says: “I’m a single mum and so many single parents are out of employment because they can’t afford childcare. I’ve got to do the best for my children…I want to show my kids that I can be a role model for them. I don’t think I can really explain the gratitude I have towards Battlefront for giving me a chance to help tackle youth unemployment…it’s an amazing opportunity, I can’t wait.”

Dragons’ Den presenter James Caan adds, “I really liked Kealy. I was really encouraged by the fact she wants to get off benefits and do her own thing and break that trap and I think in a quite motivated, quite driven, quite passionate way, … I’d love to see her succeed, I really would, so all I can do is do a great job in mentoring her and make sure she gets to that finishing line.”

Over three seasons, Battlefronters have tackled everything from knife and gun crime, to autism in the workplace, to trying to get better sex education in schools and have even had questions asked in the Houses of Parliament three times in the past year.

Battlefront will run throughout the year online at channel4.com/battlefront and culminate in a six-part series for broadcast on Channel 4 across August and September. The series is produced by Raw TV for Channel 4.