The research, launched at a Department for Work and Pensions Employer Forum hosted by the CBI, shows that businesses need young people as much as young people need jobs.
However, six in 10 employers don’t offer any routes into their organisation for non-graduates. It reveals that the majority of employers (71%) believe they have a role to play in tackling youth unemployment but a quarter of employers have not employed anyone aged 16-24 in the past 24 months, whether graduates or not, and only 56% plan to do so in the coming year.
CIPD, CEO, Peter Cheese said: "Employing young people has clear benefits to business and society, but there is some work to do in encouraging and supporting more employers to take on and develop young people."
There is good news to come out of the report, however. Among employers that have recruited young people, perceptions of this untapped group of talent are positive. Nine out of ten employers who have recruited a young person are either very satisfied (26%) or fairly satisfied (65%) with the young people they have recruited.
Cheese said: "We need to make the business case crystal clear. We need to promote the best routes for young people into employment. This includes apprenticeships and highlights how employers can best engage with schools and colleges to work with young people. This could raise work awareness and employability skills."
The research is the latest output from the CIPD's Learning to work campaign. It's designed to help employers understand why investing in young people is not just the right thing to do for society but also imperative to sustained business success.
