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Teach life skills to improve prospects say FPB

The Forum of Private Business is calling on educators to do more to ensure that young people are equipped with basic skills to make them more attractive to potential employers.

Speaking to a House of Commons Select Committee, the organisation’s senior policy adviser Alex Jackman said that the Government should widen the eligibility criteria for youth training schemes, whislt also making them less restrictive to small businesses.

Training providers should also be encouraged to work more closely with small and micro businesses, rather than looking for bigger wins with large corporations.

He commented: “Employers are the number one consumer of the products of education, and they are rejecting school leavers because their standards are too low.

“We are not referring to standards of academic education in this instance, but the more basic work skills all new starters should at that point in their lives already have drilled into them.

“Things like being punctual, being able to deal with difficult customers or answering the phone politely.

The FPB believes that schools should do more preparatory activities through life skills classes. This type of activity is easy for schools to organise, but can be both costly and labour intensive for small businesses.

“We are calling for the education system to engage employers more to achieve these aims, so they can learn exactly the types of skills pupils are lacking, and also to better prepare youngsters for the world of work,” he added.

There is evidence to suggest disproportionately low engagement with micro businesses by contract providers under the Government’s new Work Programme.

“While it’s easier for providers to approach larger businesses as there is more chance of success with less effort – more bang for your buck with the possibility of more potential employees – this means there’s a massive and relatively untapped market of micro business employment opportunities.”

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