Business leaders should take personal responsibility to help those most disconnected from the labour market into work, and not rely on government programmes to do it for them, according to Emma Harrison, founder and chairman of international welfare-to-work and training company A4e.

With UK unemployment hitting a 17-year high of 2.62m in October, Harrison told last week’s CBI conference that many of those out of work lacked the necessary contacts and networks that made it easier for those already work to find another job.

“They don’t know anybody, they don’t have any contacts, they don’t know who to speak to and they have no positive vision of what they could do. “

Harrison urged those at the conference: “You can go out and meet one of those families, and make a difference. Everyone in this room could do something, go out and find a family that hasn’t got a clue what to do.” This might include going out and talking to individuals on the street, as she herself does, she added.