More than a quarter (26%) of employers think that the quality of school leavers has dropped, according to the quarterly survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development and KPMG.

However, around half of employers reported no change in the quality of school leavers over the past five years. One in ten considered the quality to have improved.

The study found that employers value communication skills (40%), work ethic (39%) and personality above literacy (26%) and numeracy (22%) in school leavers.

Sara Barraclough, assistant director of education advisory at KPMG, says: “This survey re-emphasises the need for employers to work closely together with schools, local and central Government to develop the soft, as well as the hard skills, school leavers need for the world of work.”

It also found that around half (52%) of employers report no difference in the quality of male and female school leavers.