New grads ready for business IT

School leavers are well-trained for business IT applications, but some companies aren't making full use of their skills, a survey has shown.

The research showed that 82 per cent of the surveyed grads felt confident in business IT skills.

The majority of respondents had learned word processing, email and spreadsheets before their GCSEs, while nearly half learned project management and statistical software at degree level. There is some room for improvement, however, as 62 per cent said they would have liked to learn more advanced business software skills while still in school.

"They come out learning more than you realise," said Tony Speakman, the regional manager of Northern Europe for FileMaker, the firm which commissioned the study of 1,000 recent school leavers. "Largely, they have better skills than expected."

"Their skills are as good as people in the companies they're joining," he added. "Schools were behind and pushed to keep up... They've probably leapfrogged a lot of businesses."

Despite such positive responses, many employed graduates are not actually using the business software they learned about in school. Some 85 per cent learned how to use PowerPoint, but just 39 per cent use it in their job. And, 88 per cent were taught to use spreadsheet software, but only 65 per cent use it at work.

FileMaker advised businesses to audit the abilities of new recruits and re-evaluate entry-level job responsibilities, to get a better idea of how best to make use of new hires.

Such skills are a good thing, as some 62 per cent of new hires' work time is spent in front of a computer.

But they don't see it just as drudge work. Half of those surveyed say they use technology in creative work, while another 51 per cent said they think about new ways of using tech on the job.

Such enthusiasm will help companies in the long run, as rolling out new technologies will be easier with workers who have grown up with it. "It will be better adopted without internal resistance," Speakman said.

The research also looked at on-the-job training, finding the majority did not receive formal application education at work. Despite that, almost three-quarters felt they knew more now than they did when in school, suggesting new recruits are successfully learning workplace IT on the job.

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