UK employers can narrow the skills gap by spending more time networking with young people, according to a panel of university students and graduates.

The Graduate Panel, coordinated by communications company Orange and Make Your Mark – the national campaign to create an enterprise culture in the UK, found that employers are missing out on a talented pool of recruits because they are failing to spot core qualities that don’t feature on CVs.

A survey of 500 students and 1000 employers in the UK, conducted on behalf of the panel, backed up the conclusions. It found that 67% of students think the assessment methods employers currently use fail to give them the chance to demonstrate their true skills. The survey also confirmed how much employers prize “soft skills”, with 43% naming “communication skills” as the most important ability for new recruits to have.

Scott Cain, director of communications of the Make Your Mark Campaign, says: "Networking within the workplace is extremely easy for employers to implement. It could be as simple as meeting up over a coffee with a manager from a different department or an infomal lunch with a mix of people you don't work with. Connecting with others enables graduates to share their innovative ideas with those who can make them happen, unleashing their potential and utilising a broader skill-set."