According to the CBI, thousands of UK businesses believe that they are struggling to recruit a good calibre of school leavers into a wide range of job vacancies. They believe they are left to re-educate sixteen year olds who are leaving school with a poor grasp on written and spoken English and Mathematics. This claim seems to be backed up by the £39m paid to provide staff training and education. Some of the UK’s major business leaders are critical of schools, saying that they do little to equip pupils with the necessary skills required for the working environment.
College leavers are also criticised in the report, with many employers complaining of a rise in “softer” subjects such as Sociology and Humanities. In fact, only one out of 100 companies thought that sociology was a useful subject to undergo at A’ Level.
Businesses now want to see these young job seekers coming to them with more practical experience coupled with a much better grasp of the basics.
