Employers are concerned that this crop of young workers lack literacy, numeracy and communications skills.

Young employees reportedly have to be taught how to write appropriate work emails and other practical skills neglected in the classroom environment.

Auckland Business Chamber CEO Simon Bridges says several young workers are missing key 'soft skills', including reliability, communication, initiative and motivation.

"They lack the basic kind of toolkit they need. How to do a CV, interview skills, driver's license and that attitudinal stuff that I talked about. It's a big issue."

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