Gap-year graduates have skills to succeed

Graduates lack initiative and communication skills when they leave university, according to a survey of employer attitudes conducted by the national charity Community Service Volunteers -a main recruiter of gap-year students - in association with the Association of Graduate Recruiters. The "Time Well Spent" survey almost unanimously concludes that a constructive gap year can help students acquire the "soft skills", such as problem-solving and decision-making, that are essential in the workplace. About 80 per cent of companies surveyed agreed that graduates with these skills were more likely to succeed.