Are young people ill equipped for life at work? We blame schools for not giving youngsters the skills to be effective when entering the workforce. However, it is not just school leavers, graduates also lack the necessary skills. So is it just our education system or is it a failure by managers to work with schools and universities as to what is required rather than just blame the other? I was surprised when overseeing graduates, how skills, which I took for granted, were not present in those individuals. A simple illustration of two aspects:
- no understanding of how to use a diary for planning work rather than just making appointments
- expecting managers to go do it when given a message from young graduates who seemingly were unaware of the effect of their tone or mannerisms when giving such messages.
Those individuals also felt frustration at not being able to get to grips with priorities, keeping on top of work demands and having little if any influence despite a responsible role. It seems that we have allowed a gap to develop between employing organisations and educational providers but it is the young people who are suffering because of this gap.
Max Kirby won an essay competition for his article, ‘How to solve youth unemployment’ [1]. That caused me to think about the gap that undoubtedly exists. We may not agree with all the points made but one reason why young people do not secure jobs is because employers dismiss their inexperience and alleged lack of skills.
Gripes of employers
The complaints centre on the lack of literacy skills when joining the workforce and the notion that employers have to do the work of the schools (and universities). Most employers would expect to provide substantial training for first time entrants to the workforce but are perplexed by the lack of basic skills such as reading, spelling, comprehension, basic maths and writing. You may argue that such skills are the responsibility of the school/education system but the reality is that some youngsters will not engage with formal learning and so employers have to be more creative and accepting of the need to engage such individuals and not write them off. I remember one of the teachers at my school who enjoyed teaching those who were unlikely to leave with formal qualifications. I really respect his clear answer to my asking him what gave him such satisfaction to which he said, “ensuring that when they left school they would be able to perform the basic tasks required for work and would be able to avoid being short changed (in life)”.
Employers have more work to do with schools
To address the gap it appears that we need more input from both employers and schools. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), was formed to “help the UK achieve world-class standing in employment, skills and productivity”. One of its first missions was, “to address once and for all the age-old gripe from employers that young people emerge from the education system ill-prepared for work.” There are some success stories as evident from a recent article in the Daily Telegraph describing the success of a competition to encourage school students to become more interested in manufacturing [2]. As employers though we have more work to do with schools.
We need to be more specific about the general skills with which individuals should leave school so that they can secure a job and settle in effectively. Young people find technology easier to use and appear to absorb learning better via such means. For example, many youngsters found the on line driving theory test easier to use than the paper tests. Surely, schools and industry can develop on line modules to equip youngsters with the basic skills using real work/life examples?
Those skills need to include matters such as the effective use of a diary for planning work. A potential sales person, engineer or manager will need such skills – a car sales person has to learn to diary prospects and follow up calls; to plan the steps for the successful completion of the sale and the handover of a car to the owner – skills that are required by school leavers and graduates.
The need for skills should also include social skills i.e. how to influence people especially when you are the new, young employee. However, we need to avoid loading schools with skills training that is really the province of employers. Customer awareness is a lifelong transferable skill that employers need to develop. For service companies, a key need is to recruit staff who can quickly help customers to see other opportunities to enjoy themselves and, at the same time, sell on services to earn more revenue.
A challenge for employers – think in terms of transferable skills
Different reports cite different slants on the problems. More recently reports seem to suggest there is a work shyness. In many avenues of life, we can magnify the problems of a few and, as in this case, write thousands of youngsters off. Many youngsters will recall that they were unsuccessful for a job because they were told, “a person with experience is required”. They have to start somewhere to gain that experience, so when we next catch ourselves thinking such a thought, should we not become risk takers and give them a job opportunity to become experienced?
Go and watch the plays or musicals put on by your local high school. There you will see a wealth of talent of young people working as technicians, musicians, stage managers or performers. Those young people possess transferable skills to the work place as do young people generally – transferable skills that they have acquired in their social life or via personal interests such as coaching a local football team. As employers we need to become adept at spotting those transferable skills and helping youngsters also to recognise the transferable skills that they possess and instill the confidence in them that they have the foundations for working life.
Transferable skills to the workplace have been analysed and grouped in various ways. This is just one selection example [3]:
- Communication Skills 6. Learning Skills
- Teamwork Skills 7. Computer Skills
- Time Management Skills 8. Listening Skills
- Problem-Solving Skills 9. Creativity Skills
- Organization Skills 10. Leadership Skills.
Work experience to enthuse
We need to move away from the one week of work experience to several weeks of exposure to working life – may be at the end of the summer term and even pay young people to begin their working life focused on developing or honing their skills. We could encourage part time working for young people at the same time as learning their skills for work. While young they will not necessarily have family responsibilities and will often value more free time – a luxury that can not be afforded a few years later. However, we still need to plan for their transition to full time working so that they take their place fully in the workforce. Let them build up a range of modules so that they attain an approved group of skills which is just as valid as a GCSE certificate. Developing practical skills can still expand their horizons and develop an inquiring mind in more creative ways than now.
Misplaced encouragement to pursue a university education
Perhaps a more controversial question, have we over provided for university places and magnified the problem of youth unemployment? Colleges were changed into university campuses and suddenly we encouraged the majority of young people to pursue a university education. We need a proportion of young people to attend university and develop rigorous academic skills. The balance of those with technical and practical skills has been lost. Should we reduce the number of university places and only encourage a smaller number of young people to pursue academic studies? We should then restore the pride in and value of technical and practical skills. I do not mean that we should revert to 5 year apprenticeships as modern learning methods can reduce the timescale of learning and application. Moreover, such young people can still be given the challenge of developing an inquiring mind, critical thinking etc. as part of their practical training. Young people will tend to select employers offer them opportunities to develop themselves at work and apply their skills to work issues.. Individuals change over time as do their interests in subjects and enthusiasm. Some may be latent learners of new disciplines so let us celebrate such and not pass them over from the outset as unemployable due to lack of experience/skills.
The issues are not just a problem amongst school leavers
While attention above has been focused on young people, we need also to cater for the 30 and 40 year olds who were not motivated to learn at school and struggle now with basic skills. Again the creative application of on line modules may be one way of reaching such individuals and making it easier for them to play a valued role in the workforce.
In these ways employers and schools can work together more effectively to equip young people for working life and provide skills that will set them up for life and enable them to contribute constructively and proudly to the economy.
References:
[1] ‘How to solve youth unemployment’ by Max Kirby who won the £10,000 Henry Jackson Initiative competition to tackle youth unemployment which was sponsored by Sir Alec Reed
[2] Article in the Daily Telegraph, February 21st 2013 “Change the perception of manufacturing by working with schools” by Louisa Peacock.
[3] Top 10 Transferable Skills © 2013 – Career Studies GLC2O Developed by Mrs.K.Goodwin www.careernotes.ca
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