Employers should do more to prepare young people for work, says report

Written by Mary Isokariari on 11 October 2016 in News

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Young people in the UK struggle to find work experience to help them on their future career paths, according to a new study.

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Employers and educators need to help the next generations to develop practical skills and confidence from a younger age. Photo credit: Fotolia

Figures from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and EY Foundation released to mark Work Experience Week (10-14 October), found that 88 per cent of respondents did not feel employers offered opportunities for personal development.

A survey conducted by Populus of more than 1,500 young people aged 16 to 21-years-old in the UK, revealed only half of 16 to 18-year-olds said their school offered work experience, compared to 64 per cent of those now aged 19-21.

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Ann Francke, chief executive of CMI, said: “Young people aspire to become leaders, but it’s currently luck of the draw whether they get the necessary chances to learn how. We need employers and educators to help the next generations to develop practical skills and confidence from a younger age.

“If we are to succeed in creating regional powerhouses outside London then we must have home-grown leaders. Making management and leadership skills part of the school curriculum will help bridge the gap between employers and the next generation of workers.”

The report also revealed a third of 16-21 year olds in the UK had no confidence in securing a job locally. However, young people from poorer backgrounds were most likely to suffer from a lack self-esteem.

Maryanne Matthews, chief executive of EY Foundation, said: “We want every young person in every region across the UK to have the same systematic and high-quality experiences of work with local employers. Greater levels of collaboration are needed to fix this.

"While we are hearing that many employers, schools and colleges across the country are doing great things and offering inspiring experiences of work, there are still too many young people who are not getting this access and they are calling for it!”