Young people may have to wait until next year to kickstart their careers says Quest Professional

Nov. 16, 2011 - PRLog -- London, November 16, 2011 – British businesses may wait until the New Year to start recruiting young people according to Quest Professional Business Training.

UK unemployment rose by 129,000 in the three months to September to 2.62 million with youth unemployment also rising above a million and the jobless total for 16 to 24-year-olds hit a record high of 1.02 million in the quarter.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate increased to 8.3% with the unemployment rate of 8.3% being the highest since 1996 and the total number of unemployed people the highest since 1994.

With the uncertainty surrounding the EURO and political upheaval in Greece and Italy, large and small companies are waiting to see if the economy stabilises before committing to new hires, having a direct impact on the increasing number of young people out of work.

Quest Director Jo Barnard said: “At Quest Professional, we work with a wide range of blue chip companies and global brands and our business courses evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of the modern workplace.

“We have a superb record of securing jobs for our apprentices and we have a number of university leavers who will be completing our graduate course in December. Our message to them and to young people in general is ‘don’t panic’.

“There is no doubt that we are facing very challenging times not just within the UK economy but also across Europe and beyond but that doesn’t mean that it’s all doom and gloom for young people looking for jobs.

“As we get closer to Christmas, recruitment always tends to slow down and that may well be reflected in today’s figures, but there will always be opportunities for dynamic young people prepared to work hard and make a career for themselves.”

Quest Professional runs a range of courses which offer a complete range of business and personal development skills that ensures candidates can undertake a variety of roles, which is so vitally important in the competitive jobs market, such as marketing, finance and strategic planning.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

The brands that underpin Quest have existed since 1912. Originally Queen’s Secretarial College, Quest Professional combines the former well-known businesses of Queen’s Secretarial College, Lucie Clayton, and St James’s and provides tailored training in skills for the modern business environment with an updated and progressive coaching and development approach.

Quest Professional offers a mixture of courses based on terms of up to 36 weeks, focused on the development of essential business skills. In the current environment of increased university fees, employer concern over the quality and relevance of some degrees in the business world, it is seen increasingly as a positive choice to university.

Quest Professional also has specific courses aimed at those who have graduated and are looking for business training following the completion of their degree. It is seen as the first step into committing to a career and taking life more seriously.

Quest Professional assists its graduates on completion of their course through its placement service to find employment in a world where there is fierce competition for jobs. Its reputation with employers in the business and professional job market greatly assist its graduates to gain employment following the completion of their course.

Quest Professional Managing Director Sean Morgan joined BE Limited in 2010, a group within the education sector whose businesses include Quest Professional and the Frances King School of English.

He provides strategic guidance for Quest and also works directly with Quest Professional apprentices on self awareness programmes, career development and explaining the workings of finance.

Quest Professional Director Jo Barnard started working for Sight & Sound Education Ltd in the late 1980s and quickly moved into contract business development for large public sector programmes.

She joined Lucie Clayton in 1997 and played an instrumental role in the merger with St James’s in 2003 and the subsequent sale and merger with Queen’s in 2006 which resulted in the formation of Quest. She was appointed Director of Quest in March 2010.  

Quest has a superb record of placing its apprentices in jobs at blue chip companies including PricewaterhouseCoopers, Morgan Stanley, Grant Thornton, Nomura, Goldman Sachs, the Royal Bank of Scotland LK Bennett, and Christian Dior.

For more information, please visit www.questprofessional.co.uk

For Media Inquiries please contact   
David Alexander, Calacus PR: Tel: +44 7802-412424 & E:david.alexander@calacus.com

Hannah Slater, Calacus PR: Tel +44 7731 769269 & E: hannah.slater@calacus.com

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Calacus PR was established in 2007 by David Alexander, a former national and international sports journalist. Calacus has expertise in international sports campaigns, media relations, consumer and corporate consultancy and athlete representation.