Member Article

Graduates 'not favoured' by small businesses

The majority of small businesses value school and college leavers above university graduates, according to a survey by the Forum of Private Business.

The figures revealed 77.4% of small business employers do not require employees with university skills, while 35.5% of the 1,500 surveyed want people with technical and craft skills not taught at universities.

Phil Orford, chief executive of the FPB, said: “There is a clear gap between what businesses need and what businesses get when it comes to the ability of the education system to produce viable employees for small businesses.

“The results of the FPB’s research prove that our members have issues when it comes to finding employees with basic attributes such as communication, numeracy and literacy, as well as more developed and specific skills that are required by individual businesses.”

Only seven per cent of respondents to the poll believe the government’s skills policy offers value for money. However, FPB member Elisabeth Wirrer, owner of Roy Truman Sound Services, welcomes the introduction of modern apprenticeships as an alternative to taught courses.

She said: “When people come and ask me how they get into the industry, I tell them to go and get a job first, and then do a course from that. I understand that they are going back to teaching skills for work, but so many of these students can’t even spell, and don’t get the training they need to be successful at interview.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .