A lack of soft skills and workplace readiness is deterring employers from hiring entry-level talent.
Nearly a third (31 per cent) of leaders believe entry-level workers are hardly or completely unprepared for work, according to a report from General Assembly.
As a result, 29 per cent of leaders admitted they would avoid hiring junior-level employees altogether, based on responses from 651 business leaders and 2,361 working adults in the US and UK.
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Almost half (47 per cent) also said new starters had only a moderate level of preparedness, while 22 per cent described them as completely ready for the workplace. Working adults had a different perspective, with 38 per cent saying entry-level employees are well prepared for their roles.
“Today’s entry-level employees systematically struggle with soft skills and job preparedness, while employers continue to blame employees themselves,” said Daniele Grassi, CEO of General Assembly.
Tackling the soft skills gap
More than half (56 per cent) of leaders identified a lack of soft skills as the main reason entry-level workers are ill-prepared for work and 78 per cent expected employees to develop these skills themselves.
However, employees disagreed, with 62 per cent believing the responsibility for skills development should be on the employer.
Generational differences in attitudes towards work may be partly to blame, according to Samantha Mullins, director of the consultancy Latitude HR. However, she added: “If these views persist, we will soon be seeing the same argument levelled at qualified roles as we won’t be addressing the gap at the earliest opportunity.”
Greater partnerships between schools and employers could help ensure young people are better prepared to enter the workforce when leaving education.
But employers still have a part to play. Mullins said: “Certain skills need to be developed once in work and so investment in onboarding, induction and training is critical from an employer perspective.”.
The role of AI
AI is compounding the challenge facing entry-level talent with some roles being replaced by technology.
Half of workers (48 per cent) said AI can perform most entry-level roles as well as humans, and 83 per cent believed it’s at least somewhat likely technology will replace these positions.
These fears are not unfounded, as the big four accountancy firms have already cut back on their graduate recruitment. KPMG reduced its graduate cohort by 29 per cent, from 1,399 in 2023 to 942 last year, according to The Telegraph.
Mullins warned that there are “real risks” to overlooking entry-level workers and emphasised the importance of investing in younger staff to address some of the challenges associated with the country’s ageing population.
She also encouraged employers to recognise the other qualities they can bring to the workplace. “This generation are digital natives and companies should be encouraging them to provide insight and challenge current ways of working to ensure progression and profitability,” Mullins said.
For further information, refer to the CIPD’s bitesize research to explore tips on how to improve your recruitment process.