Survey on employability

Summarizes the Industry and Parliament Trust’s Study Group survey of 40 Trust member companies which together employ over a million people and have a cumulative turnover of more than £100,000 million. The respondents were all at least at senior management level. The study group found that the need for willingness to adapt and eagerness to learn was a consistent theme. The generic skills of communication, teamwork, initiative, problem solving and decision making were also highly valued. While the responsibility for training to fulfil business needs is seen very much as the company’s, wider employability is seen as the responsibility of the individual. Respondents were dissatisfied with the quality of people beginning their careers, especially below graduate level. A need was seen for a long‐term view of preparation of young people for work, beginning with parents and guardians, who should lay the foundations. Alongside them, educators should be fostering good attitudes and a love for learning, as well as teaching verbal, numerical, and other specific skills. Employers need to provide opportunities for development within the framework of business needs. Employees should grasp these opportunities, while fulfilling their commitment to the business. It was continuously emphasized that there are universal needs, many of which are concerned with people skills. A workforce is needed that can adapt, that communicates and works well in a team, that welcomes new ideas and expects the learning process to continue for life. That is the sort of workforce that has a steady potential not far beneath the surface, a potential that can easily be unlocked as new needs arise.