Young people 'must be taught workplace skills'

A greater focus needs to be placed on ensuring young people have the skills needed to enter and excel in the workplace, one expert has claimed.

Charlie Ryan, owner of therecruitmentqueen.com, said it should not only be school leavers who are taught key relevant skills for the workplace, as all secondary school pupils could benefit from advice.

She noted that what many people are not being taught at the moment is assertion skills – such as general politeness and how to conduct themselves – which can be hugely beneficial when job hunting.

"Now, you could argue maybe that shouldn't be picked up in the school because it never had been done before but I think because the family unit, where it used to be taught, has changed over the past ten years nobody is picking it up," he explained.

Ms Ryan said she does not believe there is any relevant and up-to-date education on how people go about their job hunting at the moment.

A recent study of 6,000 businesses by the British Chambers of Commerce found that 45 per cent said it was "very" or "quite" difficult to find someone with the right skills to fill a vacancy.

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Posted by John Oak

Filed: 24-10-2011