The number of young people gaining Key Skills qualifications has leapt by 27 per cent between 2005 and 2006, according to new figures.
Statistics from Department for Education and Skills reveal that achievements in areas such as communication, application of number and IT - skills seen as being attractive to prospective employers - are rising by a fifth every year.
Other areas such as problem solving, team working and improving learning and performance have seen an increase of nearly two-thirds over the 2005/2006 reporting period.
"We are now increasingly concentrating on helping people in posts become fully proficient for their jobs. In an increasingly technological and fast moving world skills in the workplace need to be wider than simply those needed for a specific trade or role," said skills minister Phil Hope.
Key Skills qualifications are available to students at post-16 establishments in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. They can be gained across four different levels and are seen as being vital to helping young jobseekers gain the basic competencies required for future careers.
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