Almost half of British employers have invested in remedial training for school and college leavers because they are so dissatisfied with their basic skill levels.That was one of the revelations from the the CBI / EDI annual Education & Skills survey 2011.The survey of 566 employers shows 42 percent are not satisfied with the basic use of English by school and college leavers, while more than a third (35 percent) are concerned with the basic numeracy skills in this age group. To address the weaknesses in basic skills, almost half (44 percent) of employers have had to invest in training.The survey shows that young people are not in a position to make informed choices about their future career because of inadequate advice in schools and colleges. Only six percent of businesses are confident that advice is good enough, while 64 percent think advice must improve. There is an appetite among employers to play a greater role in delivering careers advice, with 54 percent willing to do more, rising to 66 percent of large firms.Companies also found school and college leavers lacking in important employability skills, with 69 percent saying they have inadequate business and customer awareness, and over half (55 percent) experiencing weaknesses in school leavers’ self-management skills. Two thirds (70 percent) want to see these made a top priority at school and college.John Cridland, CBI Director-General, said: “It’s alarming that a significant number of employers have concerns about the basic skills of school and college leavers. Companies do not expect them to produce ‘job-ready’ young people, but having a solid foundation in basic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, is fundamental for work.“These findings are echoed in the OECD PISA survey which shows that between 2000 and 2009 secondary school pupils in the UK fell in international rankings for reading, maths and science.“Students need better careers advice early on, so they can make informed decisions about what subjects they choose, knowing what types of jobs they could lead to.“Employability skills are crucial to making the smooth transition from education to the workplace, but companies are finding that school leavers lack many of these essential competencies. The best way to overcome this is to embed the teaching of these skills into curriculum and course structures.”Employability skills are the single most important consideration for 82 percent of businesses when recruiting graduates, followed by degree subject (68 percent) and relevant work experience (67 percent).Levels of employer satisfaction with the employability skills of graduates are higher than for school and college leavers, but 70 percent of employers say that university students need to do more to prepare themselves to be effective in the workplace.The survey reveals a positive picture of businesses’ intentions to invest in skills. More employers plan to increase investment in training during the coming year, 41 percent compared to only 14 percent last year. Over half (55 percent) are already involved in apprenticeships and 17 percent say they will become involved in the next few years.Nigel Snook, EDI chief executive, said: “Businesses know they need to play their part in investing in skills as the economy begins to recover to drive sustainable long-term growth. As a result more employers plan to increase their staff training programmes over the next year.“Because the basic skills levels of school and college leavers are often insufficient, many employers have to redirect their resources to provide remedial training to get these areas up-to-scratch.“If school leavers do not have a sound base in English and Maths, then employers will find training staff in more advanced skills increasingly difficult.”Skills in the recovery Sustainable economic growth will require reshaping of the UK economy putting more emphasis on high-value, export oriented goods and services, but there is a shortage of people with the right type of high-level and intermediate skills to support this.