Carluke man is now the boss of his mental health issues

The Prince’s Trust Tesco Youth Index, conducted by YouGov, gauges young people’s happiness and confidence levels across a range of areas, from their working life to their physical and mental health.

Almost half of young people in Scotland (47 per cent) say their mental health has worsened since the start of the pandemic, 32 per cent admit feel “unable to cope with life” and 63 per cent say they “always” or “often” feel anxious .

After being made redundant due to the pandemic, Steven Jackson decided to utilise the skills and knowledge he had built up over the years to set up his own business.

Steven (28), who worked as a virtual assistant to mortgage advisers, had never experienced unemployment before and while also battling depression, had to figure out what he wanted to do.

Steven decided to use his three years of experience to use to set up Precision Admin Services, offering admin support to mortgage providers.

He felt being his own boss and having flexibility in his working life would help to improve his mental health.

Needing expert business help, Steven reached out to The Prince’s Trust and took part in the Enterprise course.

Steven said: “I’ve worked since the age of 16 so being furloughed, then being made

redundant was a shock to the system.

"Over the last year I have suffered from depression and so the combination of my poor mental health and losing my job meant I was extremely low.

"I decided to pursue being self-employed, but finance and a lack of business knowledge was a barrier.

"I had heard a lot of good things about The Prince’s Trust and knew they helped people like me to start businesses, so I reached out for support.”

Steven is now applying for grants and more confident about being his own boss, while in a happier place with his mental health.

He added: “Everything I’ve learned from the Enterprise course has put me in good stead to open my business and get back to helping people with the knowledge I have.”