Fears were raised today of increasing problems with the quality of job hunters in the Black Country as it emerged hundreds of applications are being discarded because of low standards of applications.

The low level of basic skills in some areas has been a long-standing worry for industry leaders in the area, and has been thrown into sharp focus by news that BT has recruited just 47 staff for 350 new jobs in West Bromwich out of 1,500 applicants.

Many engineering firms are already worried about the impact Jaguar Land Rover’s new engine factory in Wolverhampton will have on recruitment.

Bosses have spoken of their fears they will be left struggling to fill vacancies after staff leave for the hundreds of well-paid jobs at the JLR plant when it is completed in 2014.

At West Bromwich-based industry body the Confederation of British Metalforming, newly appointed chief executive Dennis Kent said:

“Recruiting and training is the biggest single issue for our members. We need to produce people who are fit for work.”

The current skills gap is a fact of life for Wolverhampton recruitment company boss Jason Guy. He said: “In recent years we have had to spend more time working with applicants to improve their basic skills and interview technique.

“It is very worrying – the increasing number of young people coming out of schools with no qualifications and poor levels of literacy and numeracy.”

A 15-year veteran of the industry, he has run the First5Staff agency in Chapel Ash for more than a decade.

“We work very hard to prepare our candidates, guiding them on how to dress and behave in interviews, the right attitude to have. And we make sure we closely align their skills with the requirements of the employer. But companies are becoming a lot more demanding.

“At the same time we have the worst youth unemployment figures on record.

“I am not surprised that so many people applied for jobs with BT at West Bromwich – people are becoming increasingly desperate and applying for any job whether they are qualified for it or not. But it does surprise me that BT only took on 47 people out of those 1,500.”

Mr Guy added: “We have a lot of young people leaving school with no idea what to do and no qualifications. Schools have lost focus on the fundamentals.”

See also:

• BT struggles to fill 200 jobs at Black Country call centre