Business leaders set their sights on young innovators

Bosses are taking notice of the youngest workers as CEOs reveal they expect ‘Generation Z’ to have a positive impact on business growth and commercial success, according to new figures. A study by graduate recruitment specialist Pareto Law revealed that many senior figures are enthusiastic about how the youth will affect the way businesses work, although not all firms are ready to embrace the changes that come with it.

Around two thirds of CEOs expect Generation Z – the generation just leaving education between the ages of 16 and 21 – to see in major business changes as we look into the future, with 60% looking to add younger workers to their team as a way of integrating with older generations. Despite wanting the youth to bring more than just qualifications to firms, around half of employers surveyed were reluctant to pay for the resources to train up young people straight out of school.

39% of bosses hope that bringing in younger workers will help boost company understanding of technology and creativity, especially alongside the technology-adept Millennials. Bosses are taking training into consideration, and around half of workers are gaining skills through a mix of face-to-face and digital learning, which is proving the most effective way to train staff.

“With CEOs thinking about the next wave of employees and how they’ll fit into their workforce, we wanted to discover how their expectations and training opportunities match up to those they’d be employing,” said Jonathan Fitchew, CEO and founder of Pareto Law. ““Not only are Gen Z the future of business, they’ll be instrumental in revolutionising the working world as we know it. They’re ambitious, digitally savvy and passionate and businesses need to be ready for them.”

Pareto Law have released a full whitepaper on Digital Learning and Gen Z, exploring the different expectations businesses have for the new youth, while recruiters are preparing for how to secure and retain top talent following very successful A-Level results.

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