My immediate response to this was to stand up for the young people of Buckinghamshire and say: ‘not in our county’. Why? Because in Buckinghamshire Business First’s Buckinghamshire Skills Study in 2012, 76% of employers who had recruited an apprentice and 84% of employers who had recruited a graduate, thought they were well or very well prepared to work. These figures were backed up by a national survey of employers completed last year by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills which published very similar results.

However, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) ‘Workforce Survey, Developing the Talents of the Next Generation’ found that 88% of businesses feel that many young people are not adequately prepared for the workplace. More than 76% believe a lack of work experience is the reason young people are unprepared for work. The BCC’s Workforce Survey suggests that stronger links must be formed between educators and business, to better prepare young people for work.

Bev Flanagan, Principal of Buckinghamshire University Technical College (UTC), comments:  “Our young people work with employers, who’ve helped steer our curriculum, from day one.  They are aware of what’s expected of them in the workplace as they already have real experience of it. They come to learn, but are dressed for the workplace, we operate business hours - 9-5pm and we place great emphasis on communication, team-working and presentation skills.

“Many of the students at Bucks UTC have meaningful work placements scheduled this year with our partners.  When they leave the UTC, they will have an excellent understanding of their IT or Construction specialism, the career opportunities available, and how to conduct themselves in the workplace environment.”

Buckinghamshire Business First’s research showed that although we’re not performing badly on work readiness, we still have some way to go. All young people need support to help them move from education to employment. And all young people need a first job, a first step on the career ladder. As the BCC survey showed, employers who feel young people are poorly prepared for work typically reference their lack of experience of the world of work as the reason. This is not difficult to fix if we have the will to fix it – we just need more young people to undertake meaningful work experience and more employers to offer those work experience opportunities. Simple!

Could you offer a work experience opportunity? Is there something putting you off the idea? What help would you like to set up a work experience opportunity in your business? If you already have, how has this benefited your business?

Last month I asked you to share your first job experiences, so here’s a few of them:

• Bob Urie, Founder and Chairman of MediPlus, was a paper boy, dustman and stuffed cotton wool balls in to pill bottles on a production line!
• Nick Jones, Relationship Director at Natwest, was a butcher.
• Steve Polkinghorne, International Trade Adviser at UKTI, was a laundry delivery boy.

Proof then that our first work steps can lead us on to great things. We’d still like you to tell us your first job stories so tweet us @bbfuk using #firstjob.

If you’re interested in giving a young person their first experience of the world of work or getting involved in boosting young people’s employability skills then contact us on 01296 568944.