Are today's entry-level staff less prepared for work?

One in four leaders have admitted that they don't want to hire today's entry-level employees because they don't think they're ready for work, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by General Assembly, surveyed 1,180 employed adults in the US and UK, along with 393 vice presidents in the US and VPs/directors in the UK.

It found that 27% of VPs and directors would not hire today's entry-level employees, and neither would 23% of employed adults.

This comes as the report found that only 48% of employees and 12% of mid-level executives believe that today's entry-level employees are well-prepared to do their jobs.

What's missing among entry-level staff?

This belief stems from the lack of soft skills from new hires, as cited by 49% of executives and 37% of employees. Other reasons why they don't think entry-level staff are prepared include:

• Not having the right attitude (28% of executives, 30% of employees)
• Not having the right technical skills (13% of executives, 16% of employees)

"The entry-level employee pipeline is broken. Companies must rethink how they source, train and onboard employees," said Jourdan Hathaway, chief business officer at General Assembly, in a statement.

Addressing job-readiness in the workplace

Hathaway said there are evidence-based approaches to improve workforce readiness.

"Technology apprenticeships and skill training programmes, for example, provide employees with experience that mimics a real work environment, allowing them to build communication and collaboration skills alongside technical skills," she said.

The problem, however, is there are existing training gaps in organisations.

According to the report, 33% of executives and 26% of employees said their organisations don't provide adequate training to new employees.

Four in 10 executives (41%) also said their companies do not provide a learning stipend or education budget for employees. For those who do, only 43% said their staff use it.

The report further uncovered conflicts on who should be responsible for entry-level employees' job readiness.

More than half of the employees and executives said it should be employers (63%, 66%) and educational institutions (53%, 73%).

Lupe Colangelo, director of alumni engagement and employer partnerships at General Assembly, said there is a need to step back and consider some changes amid the ongoing trend of job unpreparedness among entry-level employees.

"People clearly need more support to enter the workforce and succeed. We can't expect individual employees to close today's skills gaps on their own," Colangelo said in a statement. "Businesses, governments, and educational institutions must come together to modernise how we approach workforce readiness."