We don’t have the skills and discipline to ever get a job, warns top boss

We lack basic self-discipline, personal skills and any awareness, according to an employment expert. 

From being unable to make eye contact and wearing flips flops to work, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce John Longworth, claims students just don’t have what businesses are looking for.

He insists many of us lack important skills such as communication and motivation.

And a although there are currently 735,000 job vacancies in British business, Longworth says the biggest issue is “matching skills with vacancies”.

John Longworth doesn’t think we have a hope

Longworth told the Independent: “Employers will often say that students at all levels – school, college and university level – haven’t really got the essential elements that business is looking for.

He claims to have a lot of “anecdotal evidence” through members that graduates are not prepared for work.

So we’re generally quite incompetent then.

Longworth added: “It’s about developing coaching skills in schools, and working with employers so people can experience and understand what the world of work requires of them from a very early age.”

Not for work, just in case you didn’t know…

Although he admits all new employees “don’t come in as the finished product”, he says unis just aren’t preparing graduates for the world of work.

Instead of the current obsession with grades and exam results, he believes it would be better for unis to focus on practical employability skills that will produce well rounded employees to succeed in the working world.

Longworth also thinks workplace skills should be taught more across schools and colleges with unis focusing more on “employability” than grades.

He added: “It’s about developing coaching skills in schools, and working with employers so people can experience and understand what the world of work requires of them from a very early age.”

It’s not just getting an interview, it’s fitting in when you get there

Longworth says disciplines like sports and drama increase employability by building confidence and team-work skills.

He claims young people need to realise that university is only one path to a good job.

What’s more, he claims the “Blair-ite obsession” with universities as the only solution option for young people with aspirations is “bonkers”.

He added: “There are different talent pools and a variety of routes by which young people can succeed in life, such as apprenticeships and simply training at work.”