ONE in five small businesses say Britain’s workforce has poor skills, with half that number saying the situation is so bad it hurts the bottom line.

A survey by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) also found many firms are being forced to recruit individuals with fewer skills than they need.

The findings will add to the debate over educational standards. Employers have complained that despite billions extra having been spent on education under Labour, the standard of school leavers is not improving.

Last week’s A-level results showed the pass rate had gone above 97%, the 26th year in a row it has improved.

“There is a clear gap between what businesses need and what businesses get when it comes to the ability of the education system to produce viable employees for small businesses,” said Phil Orford, the FPB’s chief executive.

“The research proves that our members have problems when it comes to finding staff with basic attributes such as communication, numeracy and literacy, as well as more developed and specific skills that are required by individual businesses.”

The results come hard on the heels of a report by the Institute of Directors, which found that more than half of company directors thought the government’s performance on education and skills had not been favourable to business. Just under half of those surveyed believed standards in schools had declined in the past decade.

The FPB report also found dissatisfaction with tertiary education. Nearly three-quarters of respondents said the standard of graduates was “average”.

Companies told the FPB that a willingness to learn, a work ethic and the ability to work in teams were the most important attributes needed in new staff.

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