Younger workers require more on-the-job training, but not at the expense of loss of productivity at smaller firms, it has been suggested.
The Forum of Private Business (FPB) has warned the government that new legislation allowing employees to take time off work to complete education and training could hinder small businesses.
FPB's national chairman Len Collinson has remarked that employers are often willing to train up their employees, but the new Education and Skills Bill may not be the best way to impose this.
"For those that need encouraging, more information about the options available to them - and better communication and support - would be far more effective," he said.
Elisabeth Wirrer of London-based Roy Truman Sound Services and an FPB member added: "A more positive step would be to improve apprenticeships instead."
The FPB is opposed to compulsory education until the age of 18.
Recently Deloitte stated that competition for graduate positions is intensifying, with the number of applications rising by 22 per cent this year.
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