One in three employers is having to send staff for remedial training to teach them basic English and maths skills they did not learn at school, the CBI said today (Monday) in a new report which calls for urgent action to tackle these shortcomings.
Around a fifth of employers often find non-graduate recruits of all ages have literacy or numeracy problems, yet a third expect the levels of skills required for work will increase over the next five years.
The disturbing figures are contained in a CBI report commissioned by the Department for Education and Skills as part of its promise to raise basic skills levels through new functional skills modules for GCSEs.
It defines in detail what it means to be literate and numerate in the modern world of work - and also reveals what abilities in recruits employers would most like to see improved.
Simple mental arithmetic without a calculator, the ability to interpret data, competence in percentages, and calculating proportions top the numeracy wish list. Written communication including legible handwriting, communicating information orally, understanding written instructions, and correct grammar and spelling are the areas of literacy most in need of improvement.
Delivering these skills must be an integral part of our education system but, business says, it is not happening under the current GCSE curriculum.
Apart from the cost of having to pay for remedial training, UK businesses have to carry the burden in terms of low productivity, especially compared to their international competitors whose new recruits can boast higher functional skills.
Last year barely half of GCSE students achieved a Grade C or above in maths (54%) and just six out of ten (60%) in English. Only 45 per cent achieved both - the benchmark for competence in the three Rs. But the opportunities for unskilled workers will shrivel from 3.4 million today to 600,000 by 2020, according to Lord Leitch’s interim report on skills in the UK.
CBI Director-General Richard Lambert said: "We must raise our game on basic skills in this country. The UK simply can’t match the low labour costs of China and India. We have to compete on the basis of quality, and that means improving our skills base, starting with the very basics.
"Employers' views on numeracy and literacy are crystal clear: people need to be able to read and write fluently and to carry out basic mental arithmetic. Far too many school-leavers struggle with these essential life skills.
"The fact that one in three employers ran remedial courses for their staff in the last year is a sad indictment of how the education system has let young people down. Acknowledging the problem and commissioning this report are first steps but the Government must show a far greater sense of urgency and purpose if it is to deliver on its promise to sort this out."
Employers in the manufacturing and construction sector reported greater problems with innumeracy than in service industries. Both sectors reported a similar spread of literacy problems.
One catering company manager said there is a 'total lack of knowledge of times tables' among staff which mean many are unable to carry out basic calculations such as adding VAT or adjusting sale prices. At a car company, a training manager said: "Some people with GCSEs in maths and English can't get through our basic skills tests, which is worrying....people who fail have difficulties with basic reading and writing, fractions, multiplication and division."
A construction firm's personnel manager told the CBI: "The standard of literacy shown by people filling in the double-sided application form for a trainee position is often very poor. Many applicants can't construct a sentence and their grammar, handwriting and spelling are awful." He added: "It's a delight when an application form is good."
A human resources manager at a building company highlighted problems with foremen who cannot calculate how much material is need for a particular task: "Many don't have the skills to work out the areas of squares and rectangles, let alone other shapes."
One of the country's largest food retailers summed up the view of many when a manager commented: "We don't feel that the current GCSEs, especially in maths, equip young adults with day-to-day skills in using numbers and problem-solving."
Businesses often find that employees who suffer from literacy and numeracy problems feel too ashamed to tell their manager. One personnel development manager at a business consultancy said: "People become very adept at hiding their lack of literacy and numeracy. For instance one employee used to ask his wife to write his reports for him in the evenings.
"Another very capable employee hid his dyslexia very effectively but it came to light when he refused to apply for promotion. After two hours discussion he finally said he could not write - the same individual now has a masters degree and is a champion for the 'skills for you' training."
The manager, who had previously been a head teacher at two secondary schools, added: "A degree of creativity has been lost in secondary education, and with it the relevancy of learning that should prepare pupils for life. Schools should take into account the breadth of skills needed by school-leavers and make learning practical and relevant to their everyday situation.
"For example, pupils should be taught functional literacy and numeracy skills so that they can book a holiday, calculate 10 per cent off a sale item, or work out their pension contribution as a percentage of their salary."
The problems are not confined to school-leavers and are washing through to the higher levels of the education system.
Figures from the CBI's Employment Trends Survey 2006, to be published in full next month, show nearly a quarter of employers (23%) were not satisfied with graduates’ basic literacy and use of English, and 16 per cent had concerns about graduates' numeracy skills.