Business leaders argue school leavers lack basic skills for employability

News Article - 13 May 2011
Category: Business

A recent survey of business leaders suggests too many school leavers are still without the necessary basic skills to succeed in the world of work.

Forty per cent of business leaders were concerned about youngsters' English literacy and 35 per cent also voiced issues with numeracy skills.

The annual study of 566 British employers, conducted for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), highlighted the lack of skilled school leavers in the fields of maths and science and the Government has moved to back the CBI regarding its concerns over basic skills.

John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said: "It's alarming that a significant number of employers have concerns about the basic skills of school and college leavers.

"Companies do not expect schools and colleges to produce 'job-ready' young people, but having a solid foundation in basic skills such as literacy and numeracy is fundamental for work."

The survey went to great lengths to underline the lack of skilled staff available to businesses. Forth-three per cent of employers failed to find specialists for Stem apprenticeship schemes in science, technology, engineering and maths and Mr Cridland has urged the Government to help meet the demand for skilled work by improving the take-up for practical and theoretical subjects at GCSE level.

"The Government must improve the take-up of science and maths in schools and support the development of Stem apprenticeship programmes so that employers are able to recruit the right people to drive growth."

With only 45 per cent of young people achieving a C or better in GCSE English and Mathematics, greater emphasis must be placed on achieving good grades in core subjects that businesses simply demand before all others.

A spokesman for the Department for Education revealed it is doing all it can to improve student participation in key subjects.

The spokesman said: "The recruitment of specialist maths teachers, introducing phonics-based reading for six-year-olds and restoring the rigour of GCSE and A-level exams are all part of the overall package to raise participation across the board."

Article keywords: Education, English literacy, numeracy skills, Confederation of British Industry, CBI, John Cridland, Stem apprenticeship schemes, Department for Education

---

A director’s guide: Top 10 tips to cut recruitment costs

Globalisation, graduates, the abolition of the DRA, not to mention the recession... all these factors have created an increasingly competitive job market with the corresponding applications, admin and processing costs. This handy guide explains how HR systems can streamline the entire recruitment process and provides ten key ways you can save time and money getting the right people into the right roles.
Find out more »

---

More industry news

• Think tank warns UK may have already slipped back into recession
• Growing demand for HR staff in technology and international sectors
• Boosting business growth a ‘priority’ to avoid Eurozone slowdown
• HMRC launches alternative disputes pilot scheme this week
• December employment statistics disregard gloomy recruitment predictions
• Eurozone manufacturing PMI shows modest improvement
• UK scores highly for economic governance by ratings agency
• Government launches two-year project focusing on manufacturing sector
• Burden of regulation on UK businesses ‘too high’

Back to news home page »