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Secondary Schools are futile in preparing young people for their career with good communication and soft skills required for work.

The study, involving 3,500 business and education leaders, published today by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), revealed that 41% also think that universities are not preparing young people for employment.

Recommendations from the group include holding lessons around recruitment and interview techniques and making sure contact with local businesses is at the heart of schools careers guidance.

With the youth unemployment rate sitting at three times higher than the national average, John Longworth, BCC director general, said the statistics were cause for national embarrassment. Unless ministers allow schools to increase their focus on preparing students for the working world and businesses step up and do more to engage, inform and inspire, we could fail an entire generation of young people, he said.

There should be a planned and coherent approach to the development of workplace skills in schools. Responding to the results of today's survey, Michael Mercieca, chief executive of Young Enterprise warned that provision of career advice was too sporadic.

For a successful outcome, business engagement needs to happen a lot earlier. Businesses and schools need to work much more closely to raise awareness of skilled jobs and how young people can secure them. Pupils also need more frequent exposure to the workplace so they understand the practical and 'real life' application of their studies.