Nearly one in eight children living in the South East (12 per cent) are growing up in homes where no-one has a job.

Alarmingly, this equates to 176,000 young people who, according to a new report from the Prince’s Trust and Qa Research, are significantly more likely to struggle when it comes to finding work.

For many growing up in workless families, it is “normal” not to have a job, not to go to work every day and earn a steady wage. Many lack confidence, yet we know that they want to work.

In the South East, eight in 10 (80 per cent) say that finding a good job is their main priority for the future.

Qa Research has found that young people across the region are facing a cycle of worklessness and many cannot see a way out.

It is an absolute tragedy to think that so many feel condemned to a life on benefits when they are capable of so much more.

More worryingly, they are likely to be driven further from the jobs market, as they struggle to compete with the post-recession backlog of unemployed graduates.

It is organisations like the Prince’s Trust, working with local councils, businesses and individuals, that are key to helping young people into jobs.

Only by giving them skills, confidence and positive role models can we help them escape unemployment for good.

If we fail to stop these disadvantaged young people becoming disadvantaged adults, this cycle will continue to blight these families for generations to come.

Rosemary Watt-Wyness, South East Regional Director, The Prince’s Trust, Park Square East, London