Yes of course it was stereotypical. just as the assertion it was arguing against was stereotypical.
If you attended school every day, worked hard, did your homework, took your exams and got decent grades - in short, done what society gives you every chance to do - turned up to job interviews, smart, polite and enthusiastic, and then still failed to get a job, then maybe, just maybe you could blame your accent. But we're not talking about that situation are we. We're talking about people who either cannot find work because they haven't looked for it or can find work but at a level they consider beneath them. I don't suppose Ford ever refused employment to someone solely because he 'sounded a bit Essex'.
Where did you go to school?