Private sector firms remain reluctant to take on ex-public sector workers and believe Government job creation initiatives have done nothing, new research from Barclays has shown.

The results of the Barclays Job Creation Survey 2012 show the majority of firms plan to create new jobs this year, although many private companies remain uninterested in ex-public sector candidates.

670 executives of businesses of all sizes were questioned, and 58% of companies planned job creation over the next 12 months, compared with 57% last year.

Almost a third of companies would not consider employing ex-public sector workers, with 35% stating that they were ‘not at all interested’ in employing public sector workers that had lost their positions through Government spending cuts, up from 32% in 2011.

Expected job creation had declined among larger companies, with 70% suggesting they would in 2012, as opposed to 85% in 2011.

In contrast, small businesses showed more confidence with 51% planning to create jobs compared with 41% last year.

Of those who were creating roles, 82% planned to create middle management or skilled labour jobs, while 59% plan to create unskilled jobs and 21% will create senior management positions.

Ian Stuart, Managing Director, Corporate Banking, Barclays, said: “It is good to see smaller companies in particular more confident around creating new positions than they were last year.

“There is also more confidence amongst larger firms around investing in jobs in order to grow sales, rather than waiting for sales to increase before hiring people, which is hopefully a sign of increasing investment within the corporate sector in 2012.”

The research also showed that businesses were sceptical around how equipped public sector workers would be if they were to take on roles in the private sector.

A third of businesses believe public sector workers will be ‘quite well equipped’ and another 18% feel those coming from the public sector would not be equipped with the right skills for their organisation.

Mr Stuart added: “There is still a disconnect between public sector workers and private sector employers, with a persistent element of mistrust of the former by latter.

“This is something that needs to be challenged directly if we are to have a fluid employment market place that allows people to move between the public and private sector easily, bringing the best of both worlds to their roles.”