Work experience

The combined authority has pledged to work with colleges and firms to make more placements available.

In Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Walsall, the youth unemployment rate is twice the national average.

Year 11 students worked in teams to create new shoe designs for 14 to 15-year-olds.

Pupils are taught DNA analysis and other methodology during a three-day summer placement with police.

Rylie Sweeney, from Hartlepool, says careers education should be part of the national curriculum.

Some feel left out of a new government jobs scheme, but others are excited about the opportunity to get into the civil service.

The programme offers students aged 14 and 15 the chance to work with the police.