Demand for unskilled workers falls

The CBI and Mercer Human Resource Consulting annual survey of employment trends shows 29 per cent of firms will recruit fewer people without qualifications over the next three years. But demand for well-qualified people will grow, with 47 per cent of firms expecting to take on more graduates.

According to government data, the UK has around six million adults with no qualifications. Only about 2.6 million of these are in work, partly because less than a third of jobs are open to unqualified people.