Survey of over 500 firms shows many employers dissatisfied with school leavers' numeracy and use of English
Almost half of all employers have paid for remedial training for school and college leavers who lack a basic grasp of English and maths, according to the CBI.
Companies also find school leavers lacking in the broader attributes required for work, with 69% saying school leavers have inadequate business awareness, and more than 50% finding shortcomings in their ability to manage themselves.
The survey of more than 500 firms shows that 42% are dissatisfied with school leavers' use of English, and more than a third are concerned about numeracy. Twelve per cent of employers provided remedial literacy training for graduates. The government is expected to announce this week that teenagers failing to get good GCSEs in English and maths should be required to pursue these subjects after 16. At present, 4% of such teenagers go on to achieve this by the age of 19.
The CBI survey findings echo the view of the Wolf report on vocational education, published in March, which said English and maths were "the most generally useful and valuable vocational skills on offer", and that less than half of English teenagers had good passes in these core GCSEs by 16.
In last summer's GCSE results, almost 100,000 young people received a grade F or below in maths. About 640,000 pupils in England sat GCSEs and equivalent qualifications.
The report by Professor Alison Wolf, of King's College London, said the standard offer for between a quarter and a third of pupils over 16 was "a diet of low-level vocational qualifications, most of which have little to no labour market value". Many of these are likely to be scrapped by the government this week.
The government is also expected to adopt a Wolf report recommendation to reform league tables to discourage schools from diverting struggling pupils into easier but less valuable courses.
John Cridland, the CBI director-general, said: "It's alarming that a significant number of employers have concerns about the basic skills of school and college leavers. Companies do not expect them to produce job-ready young people, but having a solid foundation in basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, is fundamental for work."
The CBI survey found that more than half of employers were not confident about meeting future needs for increased numbers of high-skilled employees, particularly those with a grounding in science, engineering and maths.
Shortages in these areas are already widespread, with 43% of employers currently reporting difficulties recruiting staff, rising to 53% who expect to have difficulty in the next year.
The report says that of the 13.5m jobs that will need to be filled by 2017, over half will be for managers, professionals and technical occupations. There will continue to be a need for low-skilled workers, but overall numbers of these jobs have declined.
"The increase in demand for people to fill elementary roles such as cleaning or security services is attributable to replacing those retiring or leaving the workforce – it is not the creation of new jobs," the report says.
Cridland urged the government to improve the take up of science and maths in schools and support more apprenticeships in these areas. He said: "With UK businesses looking to win a larger share of global markets as we rebalance the economy, the skills bar is constantly being raised by international competition. Higher-skilled employees, especially in science, technology, engineering and maths will be some of the most in demand."
The survey also found that weaknesses in foreign languages had worsened since the requirement to take a language at GCSE level ended in 2004. Some 76% of employers said they were not satisfied with the level of language skills among young people.
Languages are particularly important in sectors such as manufacturing and banking, finance and insurance, the survey found. European languages were still most in demand from employers, with French, German and Spanish most popular. Almost a third of those employers seeking language skills asked for Polish, and 23% asked for Mandarin.
Employers are critical of existing careers advice in schools, with only 6% confident that the advice is good enough.
A Department for Education spokesman said: "The CBI is absolutely right to raise concerns about the standards of English and maths of so many of our young people." He said the government was prioritising English and maths, and planned to introduce a new reading test for six-year-olds.
Meanwhile, the government is launching an information campaign to explain its changes to financing higher education. The publicity blitz will focus on how to get a student loan, living costs and financial support from the government.
The universities minister, David Willetts, said: "We must ensure that prospective students are not put off applying to university because they do not understand the new system. Going to university depends on ability – not the ability to pay.
"New students will not pay upfront costs, there will be more financial support for those from poorer families and everyone will make lower loan repayments than they do under the current system once they are in well-paid work."