Young people who have had contact with employers while at school are far more likely to find a job, a report has concluded.

The Education and Employers Taskforce's 'It's who you meet: why employer contacts at school make a difference to the employment prospects of young adults' report investigated ways to prevent young people from becoming NEET: not in employment, education or training.

According to Recruiter, it found that pupils who had had contact with employers, four or more times, while at school, were five times less likely to be unemployed.

However, only seven per cent of the 1,000 19 - 24 year olds surveyed had experienced that level of contact. Consequently, business decision makers, CEOs and interim executives are being urged to offer more work experience placements, visits and enterprise competitions.

Having such contact with the world of work, the report found, was valuable as it not only provided useful contacts but also offered pupils encouraging information about employment and training.

The way schools approached contact with employers was also a contributing factor, said report author, Dr Anthony Mann to BBC News. 

"A lot of people think that this is common sense stuff," he said, "but we have found the hard evidence for the first time. It shows a lot of a little goes a long way." 

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