School leavers must lower their work expectations

Priorities it wants to see addressed are better careers education that begins at primary school level, teaching soft skills needed to succeed in business life and helping SMEs invest in apprenticeships and training.

“Young people should leave the education system with a career direction that is relevant to them and the attitude, passion, skills and experience that employers want,” the BCC said. “Employers do not expect the education system to produce fully-formed skilled workers, but they are clear about the basic building blocks they require when recruiting for entry-level roles.

“All young people must demonstrate functional literacy and numeracy, which should include maths, English, computer skills and a foreign language.

“Employers repeatedly tell us that they also want school leavers to demonstrate passion, discipline and an ability to learn. Business wants schools and colleges to develop in their students the soft ‘employability’ skills.”

The organisation also wants to focus headteachers’ attention on employability by having it included in league tables, and tracking National Insurance numbers to determine average earnings of a school’s alumni to determine how successful its former pupils are.

Mandatory classes in entrepreneurial skills should also be introduced, according to the BCC, culminating in a business project such as setting up and running a business or completing a project that helps a local company.

Employment policy should also be taken away from the Department for Work and Pensions because it is too focused on welfare claimants and not on employers, the BBC added, and should instead be handed to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

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