Five Gen Z politicians in Essex have gone head to head on issues including education and employment in a live radio debate.
The young activists, all under the age of 25, spoke to BBC Essex's Ben Fryer about why voters should consider their parties at the upcoming polls on 7 May.
Four of them are standing for election.
Madi Faulkner-Hatt, 21, is already a full-time Labour councillor at Southend-on-Sea City Council.
She has been involved in politics for the past seven years and said her party's track record in Southend - fixing potholes and investing in pavement repairs - "speaks for itself".
But with just under one million 16 to 24-year-olds unemployed in the UK, how would she help young people get jobs?
Faulkner-Hatt believes there are employers who "don't want to take chances on young people" and instead favour workers with experience.
"Personally when applying to lots of jobs, one thing it says is, 'needs experience in this, needs experience in that'," she told Fryer.
"How am I ever meant to get that experience if a job won't take that opportunity on me in the first place?
"I think what really needs to be focused on is giving young people opportunities to get that experience."
She said there were initiatives in Southend helping young people come out of care and into education or work.
Faulkner-Hatt is not standing for re-election.
Joe Holmes, 23, from Clacton-on-Sea, runs his own marketing business and is standing for the Conservatives as the West Clacton and St Osyth county council candidate.
He said his party would be there "to protect vulnerable people with services like social care" and would be "community champions in your backyard".
Holmes described the current unemployment rates as a "national tragedy".
"We've got a situation right now where more is being spent on welfare than is actually being generated in tax revenue," he said.
"It's a really difficult job market at the moment which is partially down to Labour raising national insurance.
"It's really taken away job opportunities for young people especially in sectors like hospitality, local businesses - these are all places that could provide jobs."
Holmes said more investment was needed in providing "practical experience" or by boosting apprenticeships.
Kieron Franks, 25, from Great Baddow, is already a full-time councillor at Chelmsford City Council.
He is standing as the Liberal Democrat candidate in the county council elections for Great Baddow and Galleywood.
He said people should consider his party as the only one focusing on issues "that actually matter" to local people, such as fixing roads, adult social care and special educational needs and disabilities.
Asked why he thought young people were struggling to find employment, he pointed to the use of AI by employers to assess job applications.
"More broadly I think there's a disconnect between what we upskill young people with and the jobs that society needs," he explained.
"I'd prefer that we focus on putting the money on upskilling young people in the areas we need."
Asked by Fryer if young people would want that, he responded: "Absolutely."
"You hear lots of people say 'I'd love to train as a carpenter or tradesman' and they just don't find the sufficient opportunities to do that while getting a commensurate amount for that as they move forward."
Nathan Robins, 19, from Braintree, is an apprentice mechanic and a Braintree district councillor for Reform UK.
He is standing as their candidate in the county council elections for the Hedingham division.
People were "fed up" with the Tories 25 years in charge of the county council, he said, and Reform would offer "better value for taxpayer money".
Asked how he would help young people into work, he responded: "We've got to incentivise employers for one, make it easier for employers to employ people and we need to look at things like apprenticeships and making them more appealing to young people."
"It's quite difficult if you're a young person doing an apprenticeship."
"As soon as you earn over the tax threshold you're going to start paying tax as an apprentice mechanic, buy your own tools, and it’s the same in a lot of other trades."
"I think that puts a lot of people off. They look and think why am I going to do that?"
Pressed on how he would actually incentivise employers, Robins said "we need to back businesses" rather than increasing national insurance contributions and increasing business rates - moves undertaken by the current Labour government.
Alex McCormick, 20, from Colchester, works in social care and is standing as the Green Party's county council candidate for Constable.
They said the Greens at a local level considered the environment in "everyday planning" and worked to protect and prioritise it, which they felt the other parties did not do.
Asked about youth unemployment, they explained: "I think it's got a lot more to do with, especially in public sectors, how no-one wants to pay anyone anything."
"People, even if they are qualified, they get degrees, they want to work in the NHS, they can’t."
"Because even though they are understaffed to the point where it is dangerous, they are also unwilling to pay anyone to fulfil the roles they need."
"So people go do degrees in nursing and midwifery which are amazing fields... and we try and get a job and the best we can do is a cafe."
Further asked how they would change this, McCormick responded: "The only other thing we can do is fund the NHS better to be able to give more money so they have the ability to hire these people."
McCormick added that the money would not come from "everyday ordinary people", but suggested people on higher wages needed to be taxed more heavily.