Planning a gap year to beat 'stagnant' jobs market

An expert has said young people today face an increasingly "stagnant" jobs market, where vacancies are sparse and competition is more intense than ever before, which could make planning a gap year a good idea for many.

Fred Turok, founder of Transforming a Generation (TAG), said the fact that jobs are nowadays so hard to obtain does not mean that vacancies are non-existent, but simply that applicants have to work harder in order to land a job.

"A big issue in today's cost-conscious climate is that businesses are more inclined to employ experienced workers, who need less time to train and can hit the ground running," he added.

Since training people from scratch is a "luxury" many employers cannot afford at the moment, less experienced candidates may need to consider ways of boosting their skills through other activities, Mr Turok suggested.

Earlier this week, Elizabeth Bacchus, founder of The Successful CV Company, said it was more important than ever that graduates have skills and gap year experience to make their resume stand out from the crowd.

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