School leavers in Britain have been called the worst in Europe for “essential skills” to acquire entry-level business jobs.
A survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) found that European school leavers were better equipped to qualify for junior jobs.
In the UK, 40% of businesses said that young candidates did not have “basic literacy and numeracy” while for European firms just 18% agreed.
This is costing British businesses and holding back productivity.
More than 90% of UK firms said that their workload had increased as a result of skills shortages while 46% said it had caused departmental performance to drop. 75% of school leavers needed to be given significant training.
Firms in Europe were reported to spend more time liaising with schools about the skills needed in the workplace, according to CIMA.
“In the UK the school and the work systems are divorced from each other and this leads to schools not providing the subjects companies need,” said Noel Tagoe of CIMA Education.
“In Germany, for example, there is a causal link between schools and the workplace and firms are involved in getting schools to know the skills firms needed.” He said that as a result productivity tends to be much higher too.
