Businesses are being encouraged to offer more work experience places, after a report revealed that pupils who had contact with employers while at school were more likely to find a job, BBC News reports.
A report for the Education and Employers Taskforce found that school children who participated in four or more events with employers were an astonishing five times less likely to find themselves dropping out of education, training or be unemployed.
It is thought that contact with employers - be it huge conglomerates or a small
family business - was beneficial as pupils gained not only valuable contacts but also learnt 'trustworthy' information.
The report, designed to identify ways to prevent young people abandoning further education or training, questioned 1,000 19 - 24 year olds about their experiences of work while at school and their present situation. It found that those who had no contact were most likely to be out of work.
Commenting on the report's findings, Christine Blower, general secretary of the National Union of Teachers told
Recruiter: "It's really important for young people to get a chance to meet a range of people, doing a range of jobs. We need to do everything we can to tackle the crisis of youth unemployment."