The Government's flagship Train to Gain scheme, which is set to benefit from an injection of £15 million in funding, has come under fire from organisations such as the Learning and Skills Council, and also many small firms. There are concerns that small businesses do not benefit financially, that skills brokers provide little communication and that courses are generally considered to have no relevance to their businesses.

"It is vital that we take action now to tackle the rise in the number of school leavers and university graduates who are unable to perform the most basic of skills, such as the ability to communicate effectively and perform tasks requiring reasonable levels of literacy and numeracy," said Nick Palin, the FPB's Director of Human Resources. "The FPB has been campaigning extensively for better work-based training in the UK. The Government and educational institutions appear to be taking this advice on board."

The FPB, which is being consulted on the Government's ‘Higher Education at Work, High Skills, High Value' policy document, is calling for the funds to be used to train young people in the skills that business-owners value most, in order to fully prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and managers and ensure that the UK remains a key player on the world's economic stage.

Speaking in London at the Innovation Edge conference, organised by the National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA), the rock musician-turned campaigner, Sir Bob Geldof, said that Britain is bursting with ideas and innovation, but that politicians are failing to recognise and support it.

The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, who was also speaking at the conference, pledged that he would break down barriers such as tax and regulation that exist in every industry sector. The FPB, which has launched a campaign aimed at removing the barriers to growth faced by the smallest firms, is still to be convinced that the Government is serious about these aims.

A NESTA poll revealed the shocking statistics that 66% of people believe that the education system fails to take ideas further and 65% feel that there is inadequate investment or resources available to help ideas turn into reality.

The FPB is welcoming the commitment to boosting education and skills, but believes that these positive statements should be backed with real and swift action.

"This document [the Government's consultation document] is helpful in re-stating and highlighting the key role played by higher-level skills in improving the performance of businesses and increasing the productivity and competitiveness of the UK economy as a whole," said Dr Steve Johnson, Director of Research at WM Enterprise. "Higher education institutions have a key role to play in this process, as do employers, large and small. The consultation document rightly emphasises the need for universities to focus on preparing students for the realities of the world of work, and this means forging better links with all types of businesses, not just the traditional – typically large – recruiters of graduates."

In a recent quarterly survey of the FPB's members, Referendum, 58.7% of respondents said that interpersonal skills are important. In addition, 52.9% said that team-working skills are important. Businesses can take advantage of schemes such as Business Bridge, which is a nationwide scheme that aims to provide university students with work experience relevant to their degree.

Other initiatives include the University of Central Lancashire's (UClan's) partnership with North West financial institutions, which aims to train the managers of the future by teaching them the skills that business need, and offering professional accreditations in its courses.