In 2013, just under 150,000 vacancies – equivalent to one in five of the job openings that year – went unfilled. Why? Because employers could not find candidates with the right knowledge and abilities. The figure, drawn from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, encapsulates the challenge facing government, education and industry, and to underscore the point, almost a million young people are out of work in Britain. At the same time, 27 per cent of European employers report leaving an entry-level position open due to a lack of skilled applicants.

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