School leavers failing to make the business grade

Confederation of British Industry warns of its growing disaffection with the quality of school leavers

One in three firms are forced to provide remedial training to compensate for the lack of skills shown by school leavers, a new survey has revealed.

The annual CBI-Pertemps employment trends survey has shown that over 500 business heads are dissatisfied with the education standards of school leavers.

The number of companies disatisfied with the numeracy and literacy of school leavers rose to 37 per cent from 34 per cent in last year’s survey.

Government figures also suggest that 50 per cent of 16-19 year olds lack the applied numeracy skills expected of an 11-year-old.

This is in contrast to the record level of A-Level passes this year. However with more students preferring subjects such as psychology and media studies over subjects such as science and modern languages, many employers believe they are missing out on skills needed within the business world.

Such a decline in basic skills among school leavers has led many businesses to introduce training schemes, costing employers a total of £23 billion each year. This is an expenditure which small businesses can ill afford.

But the education system is letting down many young people and leaving them unprepared for the world of work”

In the light of this years forthcoming GCSE results, many are worried that trends will continue and that further money will have to be spent on closing the ever increasing skills gap through work based training, an expenditure that small businesses can ill afford.

Jones said: “Employers are left to pick up the pieces and the bill, with many resorting to basic training to compensate for the short-comings of an education system that they have already paid for through increased business taxation.”

The CBI argues work experience placements should be increaesd as a way of preparing young people for full time employment.

With competition increasing within the business workplace, the CBI is adamant that basic skills should be at the forefront of the school curriculum.

Jones said: “Today’s workplace is a challenging and fast moving environment and young recruits must be able to hit the ground running. The globalised economy in which the UK operates takes no prisoners.”