"There is a clear gap between what businesses need and what businesses get when it comes to education," said Phil Orford, the FPB's Chief Executive. "The results of our research prove that our members have issues when it comes to finding employees with basic skills such as communication, numeracy and literacy. The FPB hopes the Government takes note of what we have found and acts on our proposals."

Research carried out by the FPB in June 2008 found that just 8% of respondents believe that the Government's current approach to education and skills offers value for money. More than 50% are concerned that they lack the understanding of the existing provision of education and skills to be able to comment.

The FPB's members said they would welcome better training in basic commercial skills, including specific courses dealing with matters such as risk analysis, and health and safety bureaucracy. Further, 58.7% believe that interpersonal or communication skills are most important in prospective employees. Both literacy (51%) and numeracy (47.1%) are deemed to be important, too. FPB members also value ICT skills (22.1%), as well as attributes such as a willingness to learn (42.3%).

The FPB's members surveyed value practical training over graduate skills. Although 64% rate the final qualification as an important consideration relating to an employee's training, 73% rate flexible course times, 72% local provision and 71% time-off required by staff for training as more important.

More than 76% who do not recruit graduates believe that they do not need employees with such high-level skills, while 18% are put off by the cost of employing graduates and 19% are concerned that graduates are not interested in working for small businesses.

Members of the FPB believe that educational establishments often lack a real understanding of the business world. They would like to see the provision of basic business skills, such as ‘how to add value to your business' (32%), ‘management' (20%) and ‘marketing' (17%) to be more established qualifications. They are also calling for a greater emphasis on practical skills, so that school-leavers and graduates are better equipped for the workplace, and able to gain more from their experiences.

Many small firms do not have HR departments, so they need a single point of call that can provide all the relevant information that they need on education and skills. The FPB believes that having a ‘one stop shop' would simplify the process and encourage smaller firms to offer training schemes. Local colleges are the most popular ‘first stops' when training is required, with 48% of members surveyed indicating they would seek out courses offered by colleges on their doorsteps. These are followed by the internet (46%) and trusted private training providers (45%).

Significantly, universities (14%), Learning and Skills Councils (14%), and Sector Skills Councils (6%) are rarely considered at the early stages.

The Government's consultation follows extensive lobbying carried out by the FPB in order to reduce the gulf in the number of school-leavers and university graduates who are unprepared for the workplace.

"Basic work skills need to be taught early, and it is not really a university's place to teach these skills as it's generally too late by then," said one FPB member, who wanted to remain anonymous. "Schools have to take the responsibility for ensuring high levels of literacy and numeracy."