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Poor literacy skills among school leavers is a cause for concern among the UK's business leaders, according to news reports. In June 2010 Sir Michael Rake, chairman of BT, said they had received 26,000 applications for 170 apprenticeships - but 6,000 were not worthy of consideration. He said: "They were unable to complete a form because they could not spell, put it together or read properly - completely illiterate. It's a disgrace. The politicians have a huge amount to answer for over the past 50 to 60 years." His views reflect those of Sir Stuart Rose, the boss of Marks & Spencer. In 2009 he issued a warning that Britain's schools are not providing the workers of the next generation with the right skills.FrustrationsSpeaking at the CBI conference in London, Sir Stuart said he shared Sir Terry’s frustrations that the education system is producing people that are “not fit for work”. He added that “there is something wrong with that.” He said of some school-leavers: “They cannot do reading. They cannot do arithmetic. They cannot do writing.” He added: “In order to be a competitive economy going forward, we need to make sure we’ve got the right kids, being taught by the right colleges, coming out with the right qualifications.” Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy, who is also an education adviser to the prime minister, has also said his company is particularly concerned about education, according to the BBC.
"As the largest private employer in the country, we depend on high standards in our schools," he said. “Sadly, despite all the money that has been spent, standards are still woefully low in too many schools," Sir Terry told the Institute of Grocery Distribution's annual conference in October 2009. "Employers like us, and I suspect many of you, are often left to pick up the pieces.” John Cridland, director general of the CBI, said the Tesco chief's concerns were "shared by a wide range of the business community." SurveyCBI surveys have repeatedly found that employers are dissatisfied with the level of skills among young people. In 2008, 40% of those questioned said they were unhappy with the literacy and numeracy skills of school leavers - 17% had been forced to provide remedial help for school leavers. A CBI education and skills survey carried out in 2009 found that 40% of employers were concerned about the basic literacy and numeracy skills of their workforce. These worries are backed up by IoIC's own findings. The results from students taking its Internal Communication Foundation Diploma show cause for concern. Programme co-director Steve Knight said: “Whereas evidence gathering and preparing a communication report is causing few problems, the final exam often exposes a weakness in some people’s basic grammar skills. “There is consistent feedback from employers that new joiners’ written language skills are inadequate for the demands of work. The Institute is determined to encourage internal communication practitioners in their efforts to master the necessary skills and demonstrate full competence in this area.” IoIC is running a new course that aims to improve the writing skills of attendees. The objectives of the one-day “Basic grammar and writing skills” seminar are:
Other courses that may be of interest include "Effective Writing Skills" and "Web Writing and Editing".
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