My first job was stacking shelves at my local supermarket. It was not glamorous, but it taught me the discipline of turning up on time, the satisfaction of a hard day’s work, and the value of earning your own pay packet.

Crucially, it was a door into the world of work that was open to a 16-year-old with no experience.

That door is beginning to close. There are now one million young people not in education, employment or training – the highest figure in over a decade – and youth worklessness has risen sharply since Labour took office.

When I speak to local employers across Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere, Liphook and our villages, I hear the same concern: taking on a young person for a summer job is becoming a risk many can no longer afford.

Part of that is down to rising costs. The increase in Employers’ National Insurance, combined with a lower threshold, adds close to £1,000 to the cost of hiring someone. With a higher minimum wage and more regulation on top, the gap between taking on a teenager and hiring a fully experienced member of staff has narrowed significantly.

The result is simple. Where businesses once had the flexibility to take on a sixteen-year-old to learn the ropes, help with simpler tasks, and grow into the role, many now feel they cannot justify it. If they are paying more, they need someone who can do the full job from day one and is likely to stay. That inevitably shuts out those trying to get their first foot on the ladder.

But there is also a broader shift underway. As some services become more specialised and customer expectations rise, employers are increasingly looking for staff who can handle complex tasks, with the experience to do so.

That makes traditional entry-level sectors such as hospitality more important than ever. Hospitality alone supports 3.5 million jobs across the UK and remains one of the main ways young people gain that vital first experience. We cannot afford to let that route disappear.

That is why I support the Conservatives’ Save the Summer Job campaign. It takes a practical approach: extending the hours teenagers can work in the evening to reflect longer summer opening times, removing outdated restrictions on Sunday working, and scrapping unnecessary red tape that deters employers from offering part-time roles to young people.

Alongside that, we should ease the cost pressures on businesses and remove the barriers that make employers think twice before giving someone their first opportunity.

Every young person deserves that first chance. A summer job is not just about earning money – it is where confidence is built, responsibility is learned, and ambition takes shape. We must keep that door open for the next generation in Farnham, Bordon, Haslemere, Liphook and our surrounding villages.