Just 6% of managers say young recruits are ready for work, despite 45% of Gen Z believing they are, new report finds

• A landmark new CMI report finds just 6% of managers believe young recruits are ready for work, despite 45% of Gen Z believing they have the skills they need. CMI is calling for action to close Britain's workplace readiness gap.
• The research finds resilience is the biggest skills gap among young recruits, while more than nine in ten (91%) managers say the deficit is affecting performance. At the same time, almost two-thirds (64%) of young people want to become leaders.
• Crucially, the report identifies the blockers holding back younger workers from both staying in their early-career jobs and from progressing, with a clear line being drawn to the value of training frontline managers - 86% of employed young people agreeing that it is important their line manager has received training on how to properly support and guide someone at the start of their career.
• Ann Francke OBE, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), said:

Too many young people are leaving education with ambition, talent and potential, only to discover they haven't been prepared for the realities of the workplace, and that the managers responsible for supporting them haven't been equipped either.

If we want to tackle youth unemployment, improve productivity and build the next generation of leaders, we need to stop treating workplace readiness as somebody else's problem. Government, educators and employers all have a part to play.

London - Young people entering the workplace dramatically overestimate their workplace readiness compared with the views of their managers, according to a landmark new report from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), published to mark Youth Employment Week.

The report found that while almost half (45%) of 18 to 24-year-olds believe they entered the workforce equipped with the skills needed to succeed, just 6% of UK managers say young recruits demonstrate those skills to the same extent.

In response, CMI is calling for government, educators and employers to work together to bridge a worrying divide - by not just better preparing young people for work, but also by investing in training the managers charged with helping them to both stay in work and to find a route to promotion.

The report, Bridging the Gap: Supporting a New Generation of Leaders, comes just weeks after Alan Milburn's landmark review highlighted that almost one million young people are now not in education, employment or training (NEETs), arguing the challenge extends far beyond those outside the labour market.

Drawing on research with more than 1,000 UK managers, a nationally representative YouGov poll of 514 young people, and interviews and focus groups with young people, employers, and educators, the report concludes that Britain faces a workplace readiness crisis affecting young people, employers, and the wider economy.

More than six in ten (61%) believe younger workers are more likely than other age groups to lack resilience, professionalism, communication skills and the ability to accept and act on feedback. Worryingly, more than nine in ten (91%) say the gap is negatively affecting performance across their workforce.

The lack of readiness for work is affecting young people’s chances of staying in their early career jobs and blocking them from progressing. Just one in 10 managers (12%) say that young people in their organisation are progressing as expected. When they fail to progress or do not pass their probation, managers cite a lack of motivation (40%), a lack of resilience (38%), poor workplace behaviour or etiquette (34%) and poor time-keeping (32%) as the most common causes.

As these failings translate into high turnover, they lead to costly cycles of recruitment and onboarding. Further complicating the picture is growing generational friction, with 70% of young people feeling that employers hold a negative bias against their generation.
The report argues employers must also do more to support those in the key early career phase, with almost nine in ten (86%) young employees saying it was important that line managers receive training to support people at the start of their careers, while almost nine in ten (89%) managers who have received management training say it has improved their ability to develop younger employees.

However, the research also challenges the perception that young people lack ambition. Almost two-thirds (64%) want to progress into management or leadership roles, while more than eight in ten (83%) say they would feel much more confident stepping into leadership positions if they had access to a formal mentor or professional body.

Signalling a level of self-awareness, almost eight in ten (78%) believe their education focused too heavily on academic theory rather than the practical skills needed to succeed at work.

Previous CMI research has also found that more than eight in ten (82%) managers are "accidental managers", promoted without formal management training.

Ann Francke OBE, Chief Executive of the Chartered Management Institute, said:

We've spent years asking whether young people are ready for work. It's time we started asking whether work is ready for young people. Too many young people are leaving education with ambition, talent and potential, only to discover they haven't been prepared for the realities of the workplace, and that the managers responsible for supporting them haven't been equipped either.

If we want to tackle youth unemployment, improve productivity and build the next generation of leaders, we need to stop treating workplace readiness as somebody else's problem. Government, educators and employers all have a part to play.

Lisa Pinfield, Group Talent Director, People Function, Capita, said:

We can’t expect young people to thrive in the workplace if the managers welcoming them in don’t yet have the skills to coach, give meaningful feedback, or handle difficult conversations well. If we’re serious about early careers retention, we need to invest in structured management development much earlier, helping ‘accidental managers’ become confident, thoughtful leaders who create the kind of environment people want to stay and grow in.

Jon Hornagold CMgr MCMI, Apprenticeship Manager, Amey, said:

Young people thrive when they have a structured pathway and a clear line of sight to professional recognition. Providing early-career talent with an employer-recognised stamp of capability, like CMI's new routes to Chartered status, gives them immediate authenticity and a sense of belonging. When we pair formal development with a clear professional body pathway, we see immediate dividends in their confidence, retention and desire to step up as future leaders.