When I left school I couldn't get a job anywhere in the UK. And this was my home area, where I knew the culture and spoke the language.

It was the start of the 1990 recession, so everyone was laying off workers. The problem continued for years, so I ended up on an exploitative training scheme, which meant that although I worked full-time, I couldn't afford to live independently.

I still couldn't get a full-time job even when it finished. By then I was 20, worked 3 days a week, but never got to keep more than £30 after paying my parents 'rent'. The whole experience really zapped my confidence. I mean, if I couldn't get work at home, what chance did I stand in a foreign country?

I thought once I was working I'd be able to afford my own place, to travel, to have a life, but I couldn't even afford to go out some of the time.

I gave up eventually and went to university at 21. Things had improved by the time I came out at 24. I got a shitty job and married a year later.

So I had a bad start. No one would employ me for years, except on a training scheme where I basically worked for free and got a small government allowance.