It is impossible to generalise about young professionals and contractors entering the workforce in terms of qualifications, according to one company.

Phil Flaxton, chief executive of Work Wise UK has said that although some people are coming out of school with inadequate skills, it is unfair and inaccurate to generalise this to all young people.

Analysis by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that less than one in four employers source staff from disadvantaged groups such as young people with few or no qualifications, the long-term unemployed, older people or those coming out of prison.

It also found that one third of employers actively exclude some of these groups from being recruited by them.

However, this is an improvement from 2005, when it was revealed that 62 per cent of employers did so.

This comes after the Office for National Statistics found that the employment rate for 16-64 year olds is 70.6 per cent, which is the first quarterly fall since the three months to April 2010.