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School leavers without basic qualifications risk becoming "unemployable", a new report has warned.

Research from the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) found that 22 per cent of employers say that they would not recruit job-seekers with less than five GCSE's rated A* to C, or the vocational equivalent.

Around 15 per cent of employers admitted that they would completely ignore CVs without these basic qualifications, while 47 per cent of those employers who would employ someone without them would only offer unskilled positions with low pay and limited prospects.

Almost eight in ten employers said that they thought applicants without good qualifications would struggle in their company, while 30 per cent said they thought they would expect applicants in this position to show less commitment than employees with higher qualifications.

Director of young people's learning at the LSC, Julia Dowd, said :"This research really hits home the fact that employment opportunities open to young people are massively enhanced by staying in education and training. By not dropping out, young people significantly improve their job prospects and earning potential."

A recent report from the Confederation of British Industry found that too many school leavers have poor reading and mathematics skills.