LONDON, July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — You g people e te i g the wo kplace d amatically ove estimate thei wo kplace eadi ess compa ed with the views of thei ma age s, acco di g to a la dma k ew epo t f om the Cha te ed Ma ageme t I stitute (CMI), published to ma k Youth Employme t Week.
The epo t fou d that while almost half (45%) of 18 to 24-yea -olds believe they e te ed the wo kfo ce equipped with the skills eeded to succeed, just 6% of UK ma age s say you g ec uits demo st ate those skills to the same exte t.
I espo se, CMI is calli g fo gove me t, educato s a d employe s to wo k togethe to b idge a wo yi g divide – by ot just bette p epa i g you g people fo wo k, but also by i vesti g i t ai i g the ma age s cha ged with helpi g them to both stay i wo k a d to fi d a oute to p omotio .
D awi g o esea ch with mo e tha 1,000 UK ma age s, a atio ally ep ese tative YouGov poll of 514 you g people, a d i te views a d focus g oups with you g people, the epo t fou d that mo e tha six i te (61%) believe you ge wo ke s a e mo e likely tha othe age g oups to lack esilie ce, p ofessio alism, commu icatio skills a d the ability to accept a d act o feedback.
Wo yi gly, mo e tha i e i te (91%) say the gap is egatively affecti g pe fo ma ce ac oss thei wo kfo ce. Just o e i 10 ma age s (12%) say that you g people i thei o ga isatio a e p og essi g as expected.
Whe they fail to p og ess o do ot pass thei p obatio , ma age s cite a lack of motivatio (40%), a lack of esilie ce (38%), poo wo kplace behaviou o etiquette (34%) a d poo time-keepi g (32%) as the most commo causes.
The epo t a gues employe s must also do mo e to suppo t those i the key ea ly ca ee phase, with almost i e i te (86%) you g employees sayi g it was impo ta t that li e ma age s eceive t ai i g to suppo t people at the sta t of thei ca ee s, while almost i e i te (89%) ma age s who have eceived ma ageme t t ai i g say it has imp oved thei ability to develop you ge employees.
Howeve , the esea ch also challe ges the pe ceptio that you g people lack ambitio . Almost two-thi ds (64%) wa t to p og ess i to ma ageme t o leade ship oles, while mo e tha eight i te (83%) say they would feel much mo e co fide t steppi g i to leade ship positio s if they had access to a fo mal me to o p ofessio al body.
Sig alli g a level of self-awa e ess, almost eight i te (78%) believe thei educatio focused too heavily o academic theo y athe tha the p actical skills eeded to succeed at wo k.
P evious CMI esea ch has also fou d that mo e tha eight i te (82%) ma age s a e “accide tal ma age s”, p omoted without fo mal ma ageme t t ai i g.
A F a cke OBE, Chief Executive of the Cha te ed Ma ageme t I stitute, said:“We’ve spe t yea s aski g whethe you g people a e eady fo wo k. It’s time we sta ted aski g whethe wo k is eady fo you g people. Too ma y you g people a e leavi g educatio with ambitio , tale t a d pote tial, o ly to discove they have ‘t bee p epa ed fo the ealities of the wo kplace, a d that the ma age s espo sible fo suppo ti g them have ‘t bee equipped eithe .
“If we wa t to tackle youth u employme t, imp ove p oductivity a d build the ext ge e atio of leade s, we eed to stop t eati g wo kplace eadi ess as somebody else’s p oblem. Gove me t, educato s a d employe s all have a pa t to play.”
Fo media e qui ies, please co tact Izzy Pougatch at izzy@atala ta.co o +447712256399
The fi di gs efe e ced a e based o a YouGov su vey commissio ed by CMI of 514 you g people aged 18–24 i the UK, as well as othe CMI Ma age s’ Voice Polls co sisti g of ove 1000 ma age s pe su vey. Resea ch was co ducted betwee 27 May a d 3 Ju e 2026.
CMI is u iquely positio ed to suppo t both you g people a d the ma age s tasked with i teg ati g them successfully i to wo k. Buildi g o these fi di gs, CMI has specifically desig ed its Futu e Leade s suite of tools to suppo t both ea ly ca ee co fide ce a d ma age ial success fo ew ec uits:
- Leade ship Esse tials: Desig ed fo those who a e ot yet i wo k, but may be studyi g o o a app e ticeship. This p og amme focuses o demystifyi g the wo kplace, t a slati g academic theo y i to p actical skills a d helpi g them feel co fide t a d eady befo e they step i to thei fi st ole, the eby educi g the futu e o boa di g bu de fo employe s.
- Aspi i g Leade s: Desig ed fo those al eady i thei fo mative yea s i the wo kplace, such as app e tices o ece t e t a ts. This p og amme boosts existi g skills, helpi g them to map out thei ca ee t ajecto y, build esilie ce a d gai the co fide ce to take o mo e espo sibilities without eedi g co sta t ma age ial i te ve tio .
- Fi st-Li e Ma ageme t P og amme p ovides the suppo t that you ge wo ke s taki g thei fi st steps i to ma agi g othe s eed to th ive i thei ea ly ca ee . The p og amme focuses o b idgi g the gap betwee i dividual co t ibutio a d team supe visio a d cove s pe so al a d team effective ess, ma agi g pe fo ma ce a d co flict a d a ma ageme t impact p oject. Delive ed via th ee maste classes it also leads to CMI’s Fou datio Cha te ed Ma age (fCMg ) status upo completio . This puts lea e s o a path to becomi g Cha te ed a d sig als to them that thei employe is i vested i thei futu e success.
