M&S chief Sir Stuart Rose says school leavers not fit for work

School-leavers are not 'fit for work', according to Sir Stuart Rose, executive chairman of Marks & Spencer.

Speaking at yesterday's Confederation of British Industry (CBI) conference in London, Rose said that he was extremely concerned about the huge gap between the best and worst-qualified school leavers, reports the Times.

Rose said: "We have to worry about those people who don't have the 21st century equivalent of metal-bashing, whether that is computer literacy or something. They are not fit for work when they come out of college."

The M&S chairman's comments were echoed by Chris Hyman, chief executive of outsourcing company Serco, who said the British education sector was failing the economy by not producing the sort of graduates that industry needed.

CBI director-general Richard Lambert said last week that the priority for whichever party wins the next general election will be to address the huge number of people leaving school without qualifications.