A skills shortage in the North-East is being intensified by A-level students unwilling to carry on to higher education, research shows.
Despite the Government estimate that by 2010, 80 per cent of new jobs in the UK economy will require degree-level skills, a third of students in the North-East will immediately start looking for work after their A-levels.
Although there are almost 9,000 hard-to-fill job vacancies in the region, research by the Markettiers tickbox survey shows finishing education at 18 was the most common choice among young people in the North-East.
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