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We have recently participated in a ‘Skills Summit’ in Southend on Sea, to try and harmonise the link between employers and further education or higher education providers.  It was to address the reported ‘Skills Gap’ between what local businesses require to fill positions, and what school leavers and the unemployed are currently able to offer.

            On listening to large employers reporting from the panel, and other SMEs and micro businesses commenting from the floor, it was clear that many of us are facing the same problems, the issue being that the applicants we are receiving are not ‘Fit for Work’ or ‘Work Ready’ whichever term you prefer.  The student leaving full time education has not been prepared for the vast difference between the expectations of an employer to that of a teacher, and the long term unemployed have gotten out of the habit of work.

For the majority of employers a level of ‘on the job’ training is expected and normally essential.  Whether that is a formal apprenticeship, specific job related instruction, or basic customer service training.  What we all require is an employee that has the core skills of reading and writing, a work ethic that means they will turn up on time, be prepared to work hard, and for the benefit of our companies.  All too often these basic requirements are missing or in the case of ‘work ethic’, fade away after a few months.  It is truly disappointing that students still do leave secondary school without a sound ability to read and write to a competent level, and that employers have to sponsor more tuition to ensure they can pass the level required for an NVQ 2 diploma

As was the case this week, the seminar along with other discussion groups we have attended, was made up in the majority by education and training providers.  They were asking; what was it the employers wanted?  What additional training programmes we may need?  And what trades or skills we were missing?  However it is becoming clear to me that it is us, the employers, who need to be asking the questions and leading the way in this, or be prepared to be beset with a conveyor belt of basic, under skilled apprentices, or over educated and unfulfilled graduate employees.

It is our opinion that if we can speak with and inspire the children while they are in school they may naturally choose our industries and come looking for jobs with an enthusiasm missing in the current crop of school leavers.  These same students will then naturally build the need and requirement for the training, and therefore fill the skills gap we are concerned about.  We cannot expect children to naturally want to be an aerospace technician, a building surveyor, a logistics manager or a marine engineer.  These are not the glamorous jobs they think about when watching ‘X Factor’ or ‘Britain’s Got Talent’, we have to mentor them in to the realisation that real life entails just a little more hard work than that!  Even that there are these options available they are unaware of, with real opportunities for career minded individuals.

It is our realisation that along with the rest of our corporate social responsibility charters, we should start to build strong and meaningful links with schools local to our businesses.  This has to start NOW!  You can’t rush the training of a fully qualified individual and we should not rush to import the talent we need either, we must cultivate it in our own areas.  We are not even talking about monetary cost, just some investment of time by a senior manager or even a younger graduate that can talk to and advise students in their future careers.  We may find that many are still not interested in being a contractor or engineer, but we may just find and inspire that one or two future apprentices that bridge the skills gap we are looking for and breathe new life in to our business, and what company can resist that?

I urge all employers within any size of company, to make contact with your local school today!  Don’t think that because you are only a small company you have nothing to offer. It is the smaller company that needs & demands the more capable trainee; it is imperative that the investment in training a new employee pays dividends and the employee is retained and contributes positively within a small company. The entrepreneurial drive that got us to start our businesses is exactly the motivation these children need to see.

A full list of all schools and their contact details can be found on your local authority web site.