Workforce ready: Supporting young people with the employability skills that businesses need for growth
The Chancellor of the Exchequer has stated that growth in the UK is the number one mission of this government. Yet businesses tell us that difficulties in hiring an appropriately skilled workforce is hampering their ability to grow.
We explore the root causes behind this, and how to develop the core, transferable employability skills of young people in a new report, "Workforce ready: supporting young people with the employability skills that businesses need for growth."
The report makes specific recommendations to government that we believe would improve the work-readiness of school leavers, helping to accelerate the closing of the skills gap and support businesses in their quest for talent. Empowering individuals to develop their aspirations and skills is not only essential for their personal advancement, but also for the growth of our economy and businesses.
Barclays banks over a million UK businesses and our conversations with clients across the nation tell us that recruiting and retaining people – and dealing with the ongoing skills shortage – continue to be major challenges, preventing them from unlocking their potential. They see developing talent as a top priority for growth.
Meanwhile, youth unemployment rates in the UK have been too high for too long. A desire to play our part to address the root cause led us to develop the Barclays LifeSkills programme 12 years ago, which has since helped millions of young people to develop the core skills that businesses are looking for. As a result, we have seen what works, as well as seen the challenges that educators face when it comes to preparing young people for the workplace with these vital skills so that they are ready to move from education into the workplace.
By 'employability skills' we do not mean technical skills or academic qualifications, but core, essential and transferable skills such as communication, problem solving, creativity, resilience, adaptability, proactivity, leadership, networking, enterprise and money skills. Employers and teachers see these non-technical skills as equally or more important than academic qualifications. They are vital in preparing the UK workforce for a world of work where, due to the speed of change, particularly with digital and artificial intelligence developments, we are unable to predict what the jobs of the future will look like and what technical skills will be needed.
Shaping the next generation
The need to build a skilled workforce is more pressing than ever.
By sharing our expertise and knowledge, we believe that we are in a unique position to make recommendations on how Government, business and education can work collaboratively to tackle the skills gap.
We believe that evolution in education policy is going to be vital. More needs to be done to support young people whilst they are in education to provide businesses with access to a wider pool of fresh, work-ready employees, laying the foundation to help drive growth for businesses and the economy has a whole.
With the government currently conducting reviews into education skills policies and the industrial strategy also recognising the importance of people and skills in creating a pro-business environment in the UK, this report makes recommendations on the systemic, realistic and workable changes needed in national education and skills policy to change the way key employability skills are recognised and taught in schools.
"To help business, we need to get to a place where we can support the development of core, transferable employability skills of young people. This is vital, not only to see young people develop their aspirations and skills for their personal advancement, but also for the growth of our economy and businesses. And that is why I’m proud that Barclays LifeSkills has launched this new report."
Matt Hammerstein, Chief Executive of the UK Corporate Bank and Head of Public Policy and Corporate Responsibility
Challenges and barriers affecting young people’s employability
Drawing on years of extensive, quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the Barclays LifeSkills programme, our experience with educators and learners, insights from our Corporate and Business Clients, new Barclays research with employers, and desk research, we have identified the challenges and barriers affecting young people’s employability as well as factors that support its development:
Challenges and barriers encountered:
- Students lack opportunities to develop employability skills and to practice and apply them in different contexts
- There is a lack of understanding about the value of employability skills in the workplace
- Students struggle to engage with and relate to employability learning
- Young people who are disadvantaged need additional support
Practices that help to address these barriers:
- Teaching about employability skills, providing multiple opportunities to practise them and helping students see how they can be applied in the world of work
- Including the employer voice and insights to ensure clarity about the value of employability skills in the workplace
- Making employability learning relevant and engaging
- Ensuring that intensive and tailored support for disadvantaged young people has an employability focus and recognises and builds on an individual’s strengths
Implementation insights that work for schools:
- A focus on the quality and depth of learning within each employability teaching and learning opportunity
- Progressive employability skills development, done in a systematic and joined-up way
- Adopting a whole-school approach
- Appropriate support for disadvantaged students to help boost their employability
Our policy recommendations
Policy recommendation 1
It is crucial that Skills England consult openly with employers and relevant organisations in the development of the standardised skills taxonomy and ensure that business needs and comprehensive definitions of employability skills are adequately reflected.
Policy recommendation 2
Through the Curriculum Review, the Government should explicitly introduce employability skills within each relevant curriculum area across Key Stages 3 to 5, aligned to the taxonomy created by Skills England. Multiple opportunities should be provided to students to recognise, practise and demonstrate these skills and provide context as to why these skills are vital for their futures and careers.
Policy recommendation 3
The new Ofsted education inspection framework should have an explicit focus on work readiness and employability skills development when assessing an institution’s provision and its capability to support young people’s personal development, paying particular attention to support for disadvantaged learners.
Policy recommendation 4
The government should use the review of the education leadership National Professional Qualification frameworks as an opportunity to help aspiring and existing education leaders learn how to create a whole school focus on developing young people’s employability skills while also providing a framework to support young people who are disadvantaged.
Policy recommendation 5
Include employability skills within the definition of educational outcomes as part of the guidance on Pupil Premium funding, with the aim to ensure that disadvantaged young people are appropriately supported.
About the author
Barclays’ Group Policy Development team creates public policy thought leadership content on behalf of Barclays. Our work draws on the bank’s expertise, data, and insights, and is intended to inform the design and application of public policy solutions in response to pressing economic and societal challenges.
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