The Confederation of Business Industry recently launched a report highlighting the need for students to get work experience in order to boost their chances of gaining employment in the economic downturn.
The report, ‘preparing graduates for the world of work’, gives examples of how businesses and universities are working together to offer students work placements during their studies and to incorporate employability into courses.
When launching the report, head of the CBI Richard Lambert said:
“To say that the class of 2009 won’t have it easy after graduation is an understatement, competition for jobs will be the most intense for many years.”
“Of course businesses don’t expect graduates to arrive on day one fully trained, but what they do value in graduates are their people skills, a focus on the customer and a keenness to solve problems.”
“Graduates should be willing to learn and develop, bring new ideas and contribute to the business’ development and future growth.”
The report states that if the UK is ready to make the most of the economic recovery when it comes, this generation of graduates must have essential employability skills.
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