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  • 10 months ago
Birmingham’s skyline is booming, but are locals seeing the benefits? We hit the streets to ask if the city’s big regeneration schemes are creating decent, lasting jobs or just another round of low-paid work.

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00:00Every major scheme in Birmingham now comes with a jobs promise.
00:04Lidywood, Paradise, Smithfield, Peddymore all climbing thousands of opportunities.
00:09But what kind of work are we talking about?
00:12The Paradise offices host accountants and tech firms.
00:15Peddymore runs on warehouse shifts and tight deadlines.
00:19Both count as jobs created, yet they offer completely different futures.
00:24Out here people aren't quoting press releases, they're talking about whether regeneration
00:28means a proper wage, stable hours and a chance to move up, or just another spin of the same
00:34low-paste cycle.
00:35It depends on what kind of stuff obviously has been put into place for the jobs.
00:41I mean the way this country is going now, there's not a lot of backing for the normal
00:47working class and we are literally moving to Australia in three weeks because of that
00:51because the opportunities are better over there, the kinds of people that trade jobs and stuff.
00:55I'm hoping they can sort of get the jobs out of stuff, get some people some jobs because
00:59the work employment is terrible isn't it?
01:01I think it would create long-term jobs to be honest.
01:04There's a lot of things to do around here and I think it's really nice.
01:07Looking at all the shops and everything, all the things to do, I think it's already getting there.
01:12Well, I'd like to think it's going to be good work, high quality, but I'm really difficult
01:19to say.
01:21Paying Birmingham still trowels the national average by around £70 a week.
01:26That gap tells you plenty.
01:28Developers like to talk about inclusive growth, yet many residents say the higher end jobs
01:32go to graduates from elsewhere, while locals get what's left.
01:36Pedimore Amazon's expansion brought thousands of roles, but they're not careers that build
01:41roots.
01:42People here are asking whether big employers and the council should guarantee apprenticeships
01:47and upskilling, so homegrown talent fills those glass towers instead of watching from
01:52the bus stop.
01:53No, I think you've only got to look at the way the government's running.
01:56There needs a lot more training for young people.
01:59It seems there's no direction in most young kids these days, so, you know, and you're right,
02:04I mean, it looks to me like, or us, it's low-skilled work that they're looking at, not proper
02:10skills.
02:11And that's what we're losing.
02:12Most of the places have closed down anyway.
02:14We're quite shocked today to come and half of the shops are closed.
02:18I think it's a lot to do with the funding and the backing of, obviously, the government
02:23and the townships, what people are putting into it.
02:29Outsiders.
02:34With this country history backings and the way things are going on, I can't see many people
02:39getting jobs.
02:40Like, not locally.
02:41I mean, there was a place here the other week, it was advertised on TikTok.
02:48She came in, and at the door she was told, oh, we're not opening anymore, we're shut down.
02:53They didn't give her no notice, and she came into work, so she's literally out of a job.
02:57And she didn't even know.
02:59Mad.
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