As part of its Unlocking Britain’s Potential campaign, Adecco Group is now calling on educators, employers and government to work together to embed workplace skills into the national curriculum. The research carried out by the group highlights concerns about the relevance of A-level education for young people trying to find work, with just one in ten employees (11 per cent) believing A-levels provide a valuable foundation for working life.

The research also suggests that the education system is failing in its objective to prepare young people for working life. Furthermore, the gulf between people’s expectations of what education should be providing and what young people are leaving school with is widening. The majority of workers (55 per cent) say a school’s first purpose is to prepare young people for employment.

As well as the failure of school to provide the necessary work skills, young people are also missing out on vital employability skills through inadequate work experience schemes, according to the research. Almost a third (31 per cent) of today’s employees believes their school work experience held no value at all, with only 7 per cent considering the scheme very valuable.

On a personal note, I sometimes wonder if the two years of studying I spent at college had prepared me for my future career choice at all.

What is the point of a qualification if it doesn't give you that vital first step on the career ladder? I often ponder on how my life would have shaped out should I have went straight into employment and upped the career ladder rather than dallying around in common rooms and exam halls.

Young unemployment is now at unprecedented levels - can Britain afford for more young people to enter a generic education system and be turned out ill-prepared for the challenging transition into employment?

There should be a minimum level fo exposure to employment skills and colleges and universities should be supporting that. When I decided at university I wanted to be a journalist, I embarked on my own journey trying endlessly to secure internships and work experience alone despite many of my lecturers hailing from publishing and journalistic backgrounds.

Academic excellence is a vital part of the UK education system, but it's not enough. 

I am absolutely behind Adecco Group’s Unlocking Britain’s Potential campaign. It is calling for a broader curriculum that helps students develop softer skills like communication, alongside academia.

Drop a comment below and please do share your view. I think the right type of education can develop the great minds of the future and help everyone make a valuable addition to their workplace.