The Confederation of British Industry in partnership with world learning company Pearson, has published a report looking into the current education and skills landscape.
Helping the UK Thrive focuses on what employers are looking for from new recruits, the importance of work experience and the need for skills systems to deliver quality training that helps meet skills shortages.
Key findings include: 63% of the businesses questioned planned to reconfigure existing training into apprenticeships, while 27% expected to cut back on non-apprenticeship training activity to meet levy costs. The report also found that a third of businesses saw the lack of clear guidance as the biggest challenge they faced in the first year of the operation of the levy.
The Helping the UK Thrive report found that schools are making progress – but found there was more work to do, business and school partnerships are increasing, but the system needs clarity, businesses’ priority is tackling skills gaps; businesses are committed to apprenticeships, however believe the levy must deliver quality; fostering talent is a priority and the high demand for graduates reflects the value of their skills.
View the report in full, here.