The education system is not meeting the needs of small businesses, it has been claimed.

According to research by the Forum of Private Business (FPB) around three-quarters of a million small firms have had to recruit staff with fewer skills than they had hoped for and they place the blame on schools and universities.

Phil Orford, the body's chief executive, said: "The results of the FPB's research prove that our members have issues when it comes to finding employees with basic attributes such as communication, numeracy and literacy."

Firms are also struggling to find people with business specific skills, he added.

The survey found that 18 per cent of business owners feel that the pool of talent available to them is "poor or very poor" when it comes to offering graduate-level science and engineering skills.

Earlier this month, the Federation of Small Business urged the government to do more to help small firms take on apprentices.

According to the body, the cost and red tape surrounding such appointments puts many firms off.

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