Tuesday, 16 August 2011 14:12

More than 90 per cent of employers believe that organisations benefit from hiring school leavers, a new survey has revealed.

The survey, commissioned by Apprenticeship provider Lifetime, highlighted that 93 per cent of employers value school leavers' ability to bring enthusiasm and fresh ideas to the work place.

Nigel Wallace, development director at Lifetime, said: "From our survey of 2,000 employers, the findings show that young people are highly regarded for their ability to bring fresh ideas into businesses so it is essential that every school leaver looking for work knows how to make themselves stand out from their peers."

For many employers, however, a dashing teenage spirit does not solely guarantee a long term career. Half of the employers questioned suggested that gaining experience in a real life setting would significantly boost a young person's employability.

Some 66 per cent stressed the benefit of learning employment-related skills, such as communication, teamwork and customer awareness as on top of the academic curriculum, before entering the working world.

For Wallace, an Apprenticeship programme can help young people cultivate such skills.

"Apprenticeships help you to gain industry recognised qualifications and 'hands on' experience; qualities that employers are telling us they want from young people these days." he said.

Apostolos Kostoulas