'Hard choices' | UK's skills system is failing businesses & young people, CBI chair warns

The UK’s skills system is “failing too many businesses” and “too many young people”, according to new Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Chair Cressida Hogg, who has warned the growing disconnect is holding back economic growth.

In a keynote speech at the Cumbria Business Dinner on April 30, Hogg is set to tell business leaders that “right now, this system is failing too many businesses. And in doing so, it is failing too many young people.”

Hogg, who has been CBI chief since January, will point to what she describes as a stark paradox: while nine out of ten businesses report significant skills gaps, nearly one million young people across the UK are not in employment, education, or training (NEET). In Cumbria, the number of young people claiming Universal Credit is continuing to rise.

Hogg will acknowledge government efforts to support under-21s and the work of Charlie Mayfield’s review team, but argue that “ambition is not enough when the sums do not add up.”