Colin Crooks

In this timely and provocative book, social entrepreneur Colin Crooks makes startling revelations about the true scale and dispiriting depth of the workless problem in the UK. He shows, through unique and powerful personal insights, just how profound the challenges are for some of our most vulnerable people. He explains why so many employment schemes have failed to address the issue and how, over many decades, we have created what he calls a 'let-down generation'.

But Colin is not daunted by the scale of the problem, and indeed he suggests ways of tackling it from the grass roots that offer real hope on a large scale. His challenge, to create 1,000 jobs in 1,000 of our most deprived communities, throws down the gauntlet for government, business and social enterprise. Can they pick it up and rise to the challenge?