UK: Universities should teach basic skills

Universities should teach students about the world of work because many lack the ability to "get up in the morning", according to business leaders, reports The Telegraph. Some universities have already launched courses to drill undergraduates in skills needed in the workplace, such as team-building, writing CVs and impressing in interviews.

Liverpool John Moores University is one of the first to offer all students the chance to gain one of the new skills certificates. But the Confederation of British Industry insisted courses should be offered at other universities amid fears many graduates are unable to communicate or get into work on time.

Susan Anderson, the CBI's head of education, said: "There is dissatisfaction with soft skills, communication skills, self-management and language. They are skills we expect every graduate to have but there are problems." She was speaking as a new CBI higher education task force was launched in London. The group, a delegation of 19 organisations, is intended to influence universities' policy in the UK.
Full report on The Telegraph site