英企業質疑畢業生文憑 稱求職者素質差

Millions of school leavers and graduates with 'fairly useless' degrees are unemployable because they lack basic skills, a major business lobby group will warn today.

The devastating report, from the British Chambers of Commerce, reveals small businesses are frustrated at the quality of applicants, who they say can barely concentrate or add up.

Nearly half of the 2,000 firms surveyed said they would be 'fairly or very nervous' about hiring someone who has just finished their A-levels.

The report warns: 'Too many people [are] coming out with fairly useless degrees in non-serious subjects.'

Its findings raise serious questions about the type and standard of education and skills training in Britain.

The group questioned the owners of 'micro-businesses', those with fewer than ten employees. Many have vacancies which they are desperate to fill but were scathing about the quality of candidates.

The report states: 'In general, younger people lack numerical skills, research skills, ability to focus and read, plus written English.'

One unnamed entrepreneur told researchers: 'Plenty of unemployed, mostly without experience in my sector. The interpersonal skills of some interviewed in the past have been very poor.'

Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the fault lies with the education system, not with the young people themselves.

He said new courses spring up because there is demand from would-be students – but not necessarily from businesses.

Dr Marshall said: 'There may be a course in underwater basket weaving, but that does not mean anybody will actually want to employ you at the end of it.'

He cited the American television crime drama CSI as a prime example. It sparked a huge growth in the popularity of forensic science courses, but Dr Marshall said demand for these graduates is low.

Dr Marshall said he is desperate for the country to listen to business and create the right courses to fit the jobs that are available.一家大型商業遊說團體今天警告說，上百萬中學或大學畢業生空有一張“無用”文憑，卻無法被僱傭，因爲他們缺乏基本技能。

這份來自英國商務部的報告辛辣地指出，小企業主們對求職者的職業素質頗感失望，認爲他們集中不了精力，連簡單的運算都不會。

在參與這次調查的2000家公司中，約有一半稱如果要僱傭那些剛參加完中學高級水平考試的學生的話，他們得“繃緊神經”。

報告警告說：“現在太多人只有一紙無用的文憑，而且學的專業也沒什麼意義。”

調查結果就英國教育的類型和標準以及技能訓練提出了嚴肅的問題。

調查小組向那些員工少於10名的“超小型公司”的老闆們詢問後發現，很多公司都急需新人來填補職位空缺，但他們對於求職者素質的評價卻很嚴厲。

報告稱：“總體來說，這些年輕人缺乏運算能力、研究能力、閱讀能力，無法集中注意力，英文寫作能力也欠佳。”

一位沒有透露姓名的企業主告訴研究者說：“來應聘的人很多，但大部分都沒有我這個領域的工作經驗。我面試過的人裏面，有些人的人際交往能力相當薄弱。”

英國商務部政策主任亞當•馬歇爾博士說錯在教育體系，不在年輕人本身。

他說新課程層出不窮，但並不總是來自市場需求，而是來自日益擴張的生源需求。

馬歇爾博士說：“也許開了一門叫水下籃子編織的課程，但並不意味着學完之後有人會真的想僱傭你。”

他把美國犯罪電視劇《犯罪現場調查》作爲一個很好的例子。那部電視劇使得法庭科學課一時間大受歡迎，但馬歇爾博士說市場上這方面對畢業生的需求其實很低。

馬歇爾博士說他急切盼望着主事者們聽聽企業的意見，設計出符合就業市場需求的課程。