SCHOOL-LEAVERS are damaging their career chances by spending too long on their smartphones and making social calls at work, a survey of firms has revealed.
They are leaving bosses unimpressed because they often display poor attitudes to work including using their phones while on the job. Employers are also concerned that new recruits are taking long lunch and coffee breaks and failing to turn up for work on time.
The poll is the latest in a spate of studies to question the skills and suitability of school-leavers to start work.
The survey, by the Life Skills programme aimed at boosting youth employability, covered 500 small and medium-sized businesses and showed that many employers believe youngsters have little idea how to behave at work. More than four in 10 were worried about recruits using their mobile phone or taking too long on breaks.
A similar proportion – 41 per cent – believed young people lacked time management and punctuality skills. It also emerged that 55 percent of employers felt school-leavers lacked relationship skills, leaving them unable to handle clients, customers and suppliers.
It concluded that ‘young people at entry level lack a range of basic skills when they start work’.
LifeSkills yesterday demanded a greater focus in schools on preparing children for the world of work. It made proposals to ministers including long-term tracking of school-leavers to monitor their success at work. – Daily Mail