Confederation of British Industry stresses importance of skilled, work ready candidates.

As British businesses struggle to find staff qualified with STEM skills (science, technology, engineering and maths) who also carry the right work ethic, it is obvious that academia alone will not guarantee securing a job position in favour of someone less skilled. The CBI (Confederation of British Industry) conducted research 'on 294 employers, covering 1.24 million employees' which finds that '45 per cent of businesses say that STEM-qualified applicants don't arrive rounded, grounded and ready for work' and that 'attitudes to work and general aptitudes rank higher in importance when recruiting than academic results alone'.

The key areas which need improvement have shown to be:

• Language skills (French ranked most important).
• STEM qualifications from Higher Education.
• Careers advice for young people.
• Funding for training and education (from government) 

 

John Cridland, director-general of CBI, believes that 'Firms are already investing in training but they cannot do it on their own.' He also stated that he believed that the solution is 'routing funding more directly to firms.'

At Essential, we offer work-based training on an Apprentice scheme which leads to nationally recognised qualifications - which can be used on both new and existing employees. 80% of employers believe that an employing apprentices lea to a more productive workplace. Naturally, as a recruitment agency we find the right candidates for the role meaning your employee will have both a great work ethic, and an increasing level of skill.

 This scheme is free to employers with 16-18 year old apprentices, as the only costs are the £2.65 per hour apprentice wage. (This is national minimum apprentice wage - you are able to pay more if you wish). 19-24 year old employees have 50% funding on their training costs. With over 200 types of Apprenticeship, covering all types of employment, it's certain you'll benefit from this scheme. You can even outsource your payroll to us if you're not able to do this yourself. 

For further information please visit our website or contact Gary or Kristyan on 01246 278 000