Graduate skills causing concern
22 Oct 2015
The majority of employers in the UK are unsatisfied with graduates, a new report suggests.
Published annually, the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) 2015 Skills & Demand in Industry report also reveals that 53% of employers are having difficult recruiting adequately skilled staff.
The report highlights that almost 70% of employers have reported a lack of available graduates, while 66% voiced their concerns that the education system will struggle to keep up with the skills required for technological change.
Stronger and deeper collaboration between employers and academic institutions is needed
IET chief executive Nigel Fine
“Stronger and deeper collaboration between employers and academic institutions is needed to agree practical steps to ensure that young people are suitably prepared both academically and practically before they start work,” said Nigel Fine, IET chief executive.
South Midlands Communications director Sheila Brown suggested that universities are not focusing on preparing their students for the workplace.
“They have become funding-driven, not outcome-driven, and seem to have lost the will to link the teaching of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects to industry requirements,” she said.
Apprentices are also an issue for employers, the report suggests.
Indeed, 53% of employers said that government initiatives for recruiting apprentices are not straightforward, though 58% were aware of the government’s apprenticeship policy and of those, 82% understand the changes.
To tackle apprenticeships issues, employers are “growing their own”. Industrial mixers firm Silverson Machines is one such company taking this approach.
Yesterday, it officially launched its Apprentice Training School, which is situated directly alongside its production facility in Buckinghamshire.
Speaking at the launch, Silverson Machines managing director Harold Rothman commented on the success of the company’s apprenticeships programme.
Because of the quality of applicants, Silverson Machines has offered six apprenticeships this year, as opposed to its usual intake of four, Rothman said.
