Half of employers say graduates are 'not up to the job': Findings fuel fears universities fail to equip students with life skills Half of graduate employers said 'few' or 'none' were work ready once leaving university Graduates lack skills such as working as a team and being punctual and determined, research says Most employers think course studied is more important than which university the student attended Half of graduate employers complain that most of their new recruits are not up to the job, research reveals. The findings will fuel fears that universities are failing to equip students with life skills, such as the ability to work in teams, communicate, and be punctual and determined. To mark the launch of the new edition of the Good University Guide, YouGov surveyed 635 senior managers, of whom 419 were graduate recruiters. More than half of employers polled said 'none' or 'few' graduate recruits were prepared for the working world when starting their first job Some 52 per cent of graduate employers said "none" or "few" recruits were "work ready." Researchers said the study challenged "the effectiveness of the millions of pounds universities are spending in augmenting degrees with programmes designed to equip their graduates with the workplace skills to make them an immediate asset to employers." The survey also found that 61 per cent said the most important factor when considering graduates for a job was the course they studied. Eight per cent said it was the university they attended. Alistair McCall, one of the editors of the Good University Guide said: 'University prospectuses are now full of programmes and initiatives promising to give students more than just a degree. They say they will equip students with the skills they need to make them more attractive to employers. The YouGov survey findings suggest this is an investment that is sorely needed. With the typical degree now costing £27,000 in tuition fees alone, students have a right to be better prepared for the battleground that is the graduate jobs market. Last year, Stephen Isherwood, former head of graduate recruitment at Ernst & Young, said that just one in four bright graduates demonstrated "all round" skills such as being able to cope in difficult situations. Thousands of university-leavers with good degrees lacked the key attributes the firm demanded such as showing determination, being able to recover from set-backs and thriving in difficult situations. He said: "We interview over 3,000 bright graduates every year, but only about 25 per cent have the all-round skill set that we recruit for." Meanwhile statistics released by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) recently revealed that a fifth of students are unemployed six months after graduating from some British universities. They fail to get even menial work despite three years of study and the accumulation of debts amid stiff competition for graduate jobs. At London South Bank University, 22.6 per cent of students were not working or embarking on further study six months after graduating last summer, the HESA figures showed.