Young people are key to avoiding imminent skills crisis
6 August 2014
A third of businesses are reporting entry-level skills shortages and a similar number believe recruiting young people is the key to avoiding future problems, according to research from the Prince’s Trust.
Wed, 6 Aug 2014A third of businesses are reporting entry-level skills shortages and a similar number believe recruiting young people is the key to avoiding future problems, according to research from the Prince’s Trust.
Nearly three quarters of businesses believe there will be a skills crisis within the next three years and 59% say the issue is likely to cause financial growth to stall.
Rob Wall, head of education and employment at the Confederation of British Industry, said: “The lack of skills in key sectors risks acting as a brake on our economic recovery. We need structural reform to open up more routes to higher skills.”
The Prince’s Trust said that employers’ perception of young people is part of the issue: “There is an underlying problem with how unemployed young people are perceived by prospective employers. Too many senior executives admit that they overlook applications from unemployed young people and that they need to be more open-minded when it comes to recruiting young people.”
The Skills Crunch report highlights the work the Prince’s Trust and employers are doing to help young people have access to work. Asda’s ‘Get into Retail’ programme aims to promote the sector and has helped 139 young people so far.
“Programme participants are trained in a host of retail-related skills including merchandising, customer care, customer service and stock control. The young people also receive help with CV writing and interview techniques, and are partnered with mentors,” Asda said in a statement.
The report was compiled by The Prince’s Trust and HSBC, and is based on interviews with 616 UK business leaders.
Nearly three quarters of businesses believe there will be a skills crisis within the next three years and 59% say the issue is likely to cause financial growth to stall.
Rob Wall, head of education and employment at the Confederation of British Industry, said: “The lack of skills in key sectors risks acting as a brake on our economic recovery. We need structural reform to open up more routes to higher skills.”
The Prince’s Trust said that employers’ perception of young people is part of the issue: “There is an underlying problem with how unemployed young people are perceived by prospective employers. Too many senior executives admit that they overlook applications from unemployed young people and that they need to be more open-minded when it comes to recruiting young people.”
The Skills Crunch report highlights the work the Prince’s Trust and employers are doing to help young people have access to work. Asda’s ‘Get into Retail’ programme aims to promote the sector and has helped 139 young people so far.
“Programme participants are trained in a host of retail-related skills including merchandising, customer care, customer service and stock control. The young people also receive help with CV writing and interview techniques, and are partnered with mentors,” Asda said in a statement.
The report was compiled by The Prince’s Trust and HSBC, and is based on interviews with 616 UK business leaders.
