CIPD/KPMG study to give employersí verdict on school-leavers and school curriculum

The latest CIPD/KPMGís quarterly Labour Market Outlook, based on a survey of more than 1,400 employers, will be published on Monday 21 August.

We will be trailing some findings from the survey on employment intentions on Tuesday, 15th August ñ a day before the Governmentís official statistics are published. These findings will show that recruitment activity and pay inflation is picking up ñ particularly in the private services sector. The report shall also point to a north-south divide, with optimism highest in London and pessimism lowest in the north east of England.

The Labour Market Outlook will also assess the performance of school leavers. These findings will be published on Monday, 21 August ñ 3 days ahead of the publication of the GCSE results.

It will show that employers are far more concerned about soft skills, such as communication skills than literacy and numeracy among the current crop of school-leavers. However, there are significant regional and sectoral differences.

The report will also reveal some interesting differences in the performance of both sexes in the workplace.