Less than one in 10 managers think young people are ready for work
A new report has found that just 6% of managers say young recruits are ready for work, despite 45% of Gen Z believing they are.
Young people entering the workplace dramatically overestimate their workplace readiness compared with the views of their managers, according to a new report from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), published to mark Youth Employment Week.
The report found that while almost half (45%) of 18 to 24-year-olds believe they entered the workforce equipped with the skills needed to succeed, just 6% of UK managers say young recruits demonstrate those skills to the same extent.
In response, CMI is calling for government, educators and employers to work together to bridge a worrying divide - by not just better preparing young people for work, but also by investing in training the managers charged with helping them to both stay in work and to find a route to promotion.
Drawing on research with more than 1,000 UK managers, a nationally representative YouGov poll of 514 young people, and interviews and focus groups with young people, the report found that more than six in ten (61%) believe younger workers are more likely than other age groups to lack resilience, professionalism, communication skills and the ability to accept and act on feedback.
Worryingly, more than nine in ten (91%) say the gap is negatively affecting performance across their workforce. Just one in 10 managers (12%) say that young people in their organisation are progressing as expected.
When they fail to progress or do not pass their probation, managers cite a lack of motivation (40%), a lack of resilience (38%), poor workplace behaviour or etiquette (34%) and poor time-keeping (32%) as the most common causes.
The report argues employers must also do more to support those in the key early career phase, with almost nine in ten (86%) young employees saying it was important that line managers receive training to support people at the start of their careers, while almost nine in ten (89%) managers who have received management training say it has improved their ability to develop younger employees.
However, the research also challenges the perception that young people lack ambition. Almost two-thirds (64%) want to progress into management or leadership roles, while more than eight in ten (83%) say they would feel much more confident stepping into leadership positions if they had access to a formal mentor or professional body.
Signalling a level of self-awareness, almost eight in ten (78%) believe their education focused too heavily on academic theory rather than the practical skills needed to succeed at work.
Previous CMI research has also found that more than eight in ten (82%) managers are "accidental managers", promoted without formal management training.
Ann Francke OBE, chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, said:"We've spent years asking whether young people are ready for work. It's time we started asking whether work is ready for young people. Too many young people are leaving education with ambition, talent and potential, only to discover they haven't been prepared for the realities of the workplace, and that the managers responsible for supporting them haven't been equipped either.
“If we want to tackle youth unemployment, improve productivity and build the next generation of leaders, we need to stop treating workplace readiness as somebody else's problem. Government, educators and employers all have a part to play."