Unlocking Britain’s Potential

Report from the Adecco Group states that Education ‘is failing to equip the future workforce effectively’.

Adecco surveyed 500 employers and 1,000 employees and 1 in 3 employers surveyed (36%) think the education system is failing to meet the needs of employers today and 25% of employers say basic numeracy and literacy is lacking.

The report, Unlocking Britain’s Potential, looks at educating for employment, breaking down the diversity barriers, technology in the workplace and the importance of employee engagement.

Peter Searle, CEO UK & Ireland Adecco Group states that “the lack of take up of STEM subjects means employers are concerned that they will not have access to a sufficiently skilled workforce in the future.”

The report highlights that ‘the lack of buy-in from both educators and pupils around the importance and benefit of STEM subjects, is leading to too few people heading for the workplace with an education package that will make a positive difference in the creative and technology industries; industries that will play an ever-increasing part in the UK’s success in years to come’.

Ian Foddering, Chief Technology Officer at Cisco UK & Ireland commented that “the challenge is the lack of real-world experience across the education sector which leads to institutionalised stereotyping of certain roles and sectors of industry. All engineers wear blue overalls and get their hands dirty, while all IT professionals sit in darkened rooms writing code all day, for instance. And, of course, both sectors are only open to men. Clearly, if you’re looking to bring people into certain sectors, you need to break down the misperceptions. That means not only improving careers advice for pupils and students, but working with teachers and even parents to give a much more rounded and comprehensive view of the realities of careers that STEM subjects lead to.”

The report proposes that work experience in schools needs to be formalised and combined with careers advice to create an ‘employment experience’ programme. It is proposed that more teachers are seconded to businesses, more employers getting involved with schools.