School and college leavers have the skills, but not the character or work experience, that business … [+]
Two in five employers say school and college leavers are not ready for work, according to a new survey.
And one in three are unhappy with the amount of relevant work experience among young people.
‘Character’ is named as the single most important factor for employers recruiting school and college leavers, above qualifications, work experience and even basic numeracy and literacy, according to a survey for the Confederation of British Industry, one of the U.K.’s largest employer organisations
But two in five (40%) employers said they were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with wider character behaviors and attributes.
This includes the ability to deal with set-backs at work, reflect on areas for improvement and displaying an inclusive and compassionate outlook.
And it contrasts with just a quarter saying they are unhappy with school and college leavers’ academic results and qualifications, the level of digital skills or the standard of numeracy and literacy, according to the survey, the 12th annual education and skills report carried out by the CBI and global learning company Pearson.
‘Firms are generally happy with the academic knowledge of young people applying for jobs in the past year but prioritise ‘work readiness’ when recruiting school and college leavers,’ said Matthew Fell, CBI chief policy director.
‘It’s clear that more emphasis is needed on ensuring young people have the character, behaviors and attributes to succeed in the world of work.’
One in three employers said they were unhappy with the level of relevant work experience among school and college leavers.
Work experience was cited as the third most important factor in recruitment, according to the survey of 200 business and trade associations.
Businesses still have work to do to increase the availability of work experience placements, however. Almost seven out of 10 (69%) said they offer placements, but that still leaves almost a third who do not.
But almost all businesses (95%) said they had links with local high schools, and more than half (56%) said this was increasing.
‘Businesses place a high value on young people having relevant work experience, and are stepping up to provide this, for example, by increasing their presence in secondary schools and colleges,’ Mr Fell said.
‘A powerful partnership between business, government and education institutions is essential if we are to ensure that our education and skills system is fit for the modern world – companies stand ready to play their full role,’ he added.
While education is not and should not be purely about preparing young people for the workplace, the results do raise concerns that formal education may be focusing too much on qualifications and not enough on character skills such as resilience and perseverance.
Although developing character has been given greater priority in schools in recent years, while exam performance remains the yardstick by which school leaders are judged, it is unlikely to get the attention it requires.
The survey also found that more than half of businesses had created new apprenticeship programs in the last year.
And, hearteningly for students used to hearing about the excess of graduates over graduate job openings, almost nine out of 10 businesses (85%) said they were maintaining or increasing their level of graduate recruitment.
