In the U.K., the skills gap is a growing problem. More than half of British businesses report that young people do not have skills they need to fill vacant, entry-level roles. But these aren’t only engineering firms and software companies, hotels and restaurants are having trouble filling vacancies as well. The British Chamber of Commerce surveyed 3,000 companies and found that 90 percent thought young people who left school were not ready for employment, while more than half said they felt the same for recent graduates. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed said the problem was due to a lack of work experience, and more than half said young people lack even the most basic communication skills. Because of this, U.K firms are wary of hiring young people. "Business people tend to favor more skilled and experienced applicants - and while they do sympathize, their primary function is to run a business which means making business decisions," BCC Director General John Longworth said. “We believe that successive governments have failed our young people by not properly equipping them for their future careers."