LUKE JOHNSON: Too many young British job seekers do lack 'grit'. That's why we bosses end up hiring foreigners By Luke Johnson According to the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, school-leavers' 'social skills and discipline' are frequently inadequate, while many have 'crushingly low self-confidence' Recently I interviewed a young male applicant for a junior position at the office of a retail company I own. Within minutes, I realised that this 19-year-old would not make the grade. His appearance and demeanour were inappropriate. He neither looked me in the eye nor smiled. His responses to even straightforward questions were timorous and inarticulate. Moreover, the CV he gave me was sloppy and full of errors. Even worse, he seemed to have no interest in or hunger for the job. At times he almost gave the impression that he was doing me a favour by just agreeing, with sullen reluctance, to attend the interview. It was a depressing experience but, sadly, one that is hardly unique in modern Britain, where more than a million of those aged 16 to 24 are economically inactive. It's little wonder that youth unemployment remains so high when so many young people show such limited understanding of the world of work. I was reminded of that disappointing interview yesterday in the wake of the controversy sparked by remarks from the Minister for Civil Society, Nick Hurd, who said that too often school-leavers lack the "grit" required for employment. According to Hurd, their "social skills and discipline" are frequently inadequate, while many have "crushingly low self-confidence." Hurd's comments have provoked the inevitable synthetic outrage from some trade unions and professional grievance-mongers, who accuse him of prejudiced stereotyping of youngsters. The Coalition's economic policies are to blame for high youth unemployment, they claim, not the oppressed, forgotten school-leavers. To this barrage of condemnation has been added some class war rhetoric, with accusations that Hurd has no understanding of ordinary kids because, like several other senior Tories, he attended Eton. But it is absurd to focus on Hurd's background rather than what he said. Charges of privilege are a distraction, an attempt to avoid addressing the seriousness of his argument. Hurd's class has nothing to do with the horrendous problem of youth unemployment this country faces. Too many teenagers and young adults do not have the necessary work ethic or discipline for demanding jobs I went to a state school, and, from my own experience in business, I know there is a lot of truth in his comments. The reality, as he said, is that too many teenagers and young adults do not have the necessary work ethic or discipline for demanding jobs. They lack the ability to communicate or work productively as part of a team. They might have acquired some academic paper qualifications at school, but they often fall short in the skills that employers value. I know that from working with companies I own. When I recruit for new staff in firms like Patisserie Valerie, what I look for are qualities such as reliability, punctuality, honesty and civility. These are essential for any employee who has to deal with the public on a daily basis. But to my regret I regularly find that those basic traits are missing from too many applicants. Cait Reilly, an unemployed university geology graduate, successfully sued the Government because she was asked to work in discount store Poundland as part of a work experience scheme It is all very well theorising about the state of the economy, but it is the attitudes of the young that can let them down. Recent figures show that there are now an incredible 1.09 million Britons aged 16 to 24 who are not in employment, education, or training, which represents a tremendous waste of potential. Another recent study revealed that 640,000 youngsters have never worked at all. Yet this is not due to some terrible recession. The jobs are out there if people really want them. Currently, there around 530,000 vacancies in the economy - in fact, the opportunities for work are graphically demonstrated by the experience of so many migrants who come to Britain and quickly find jobs. In the hospitality trade, which I know well, there is a high proportion of foreign-born workers because of their greater diligence, skills and enterprise compared to many British workers. This negative outlook, or lack of "grit" to use Hurd's phrase, has been created by a number of factors. One is the unfortunate sense of entitlement too many young people possess, fuelled by the belief that some jobs are beneath them, particularly if they involve manual labour. A lot of teens and twentysomethings I meet have very high expectations in terms of salary and holidays, but a limited appetite to put in the hours or carry out unpleasant, boring tasks. That mentality was epitomised by the recent case of Cait Reilly, an unemployed university geology graduate, who successfully sued the Government because she was asked to work in discount store Poundland as part of a work experience scheme. Her rarified dignity seemed to be offended. But I could tell her that any kind of work can be beneficial. When I was growing up, I worked during vacations and weekends in factories, as a postman, in a hospital and in a hotel. All those experiences taught me a great deal about the realities of life. Another problem is the lack of basic skills among school leavers, and much of the blame for that lies in the inadequacy of our education system. As Sir Terry Leahy, the former head of Tesco, has argued, "standards are woefully low in too many schools." Much of the blame for lack of basic skills among school-leavers lies in the inadequacy of our education system. As Sir Terry Leahy, the former head of Tesco, has argued, 'standards are woefully low in too many schools' It never ceases to amaze me that pupils can go through over 11 years of schooling and yet still leave without a proper grasp of English and maths. In our companies, we often have to train new recruits from scratch because they struggle with the written word or basic arithmetic. Part of this inadequacy stems, I fear, from the dumbed-down culture in schools, driven by remorseless grade inflation and the reluctance of teachers to really challenge pupils to excel. So, after sailing through easy exams while constantly being told how well they are doing, the school-leavers find the real world of work a shock. Outside the academic cocoon, life is harsher and success has to be earned. The influence of parents is also essential. Again, too many families no longer instil the values of hard work, personal responsibility and good manners. Too often the opposite is the case, with parents becoming angry when schools try to discipline their offspring. Part of school-leavers' inadequacy stems from the dumbed-down culture in schools, driven by remorseless grade inflation and the reluctance of teachers to really challenge pupils to excel Lastly, the welfare system plays its malign part, providing perverse incentives for people to remain jobless because benefits can pay as much as a salary, and reinforcing a culture of dependency where thousands of youngsters grow up in households where no one has ever worked. Fortunately, some of this is changing, thanks partly to the Coalition's reforms in welfare and education. I am particularly inspired by the movement to create academies which are free of the tired, old Left-wing dogma of low achievement and low expectations. In most of these new institutions, discipline is enforced, uniforms are smart, good time-keeping is emphasised and high standards valued - exactly what employers need. I was amazed on one recent visit to an academy to find a teacher at the school gate blowing a whistle with ever greater volume at 8.30 in the morning to summon the pupils into class. Those that were too dilatory were locked out: a good lesson for life. And it is not all gloom. I have spent decades working with grafters and self-starters in catering companies like Pizza Express and Strada. Often they have come from modest circumstances and left school at 16 with few exams. But thanks to diligence, willpower and sheer determination, they have risen to own and manage major concerns. Paper certificates did not do it for them. Motivation and resilience were their passports to the top. That is the spirit our young people so desperately need. Luke Johnson is the founder of Risk Capital Partners and was chairman of Channel 4 from 2004 to 2010.