A third of pupils have never been presented with the option of taking up a vocational course, according to research published ahead of Vocational Qualification Day.

The independent education foundation Edge surveyed 500 A Level students and found that 77 per cent were even discouraged from pursuing a vocational path. Almost a quarter thought their school was more concerned with sending students to university than concentrating on what is right for the individual.

Jan Hodges, chief executive of Edge, which is leading the plans for Vocational Qualification (VQ) Day said it is “extremely disappointing” that so many young learners felt they lacked sufficient information about all opportunities available.

“There are many paths to success in life and work,” she said. “University is not a one size fits all solution and the government has a duty to educate schools and teachers further about the benefits of VQs and vocational routes, such as apprenticeships.”

“We must reject the snobbery that says the only route to social moblilty is through university”

The fifth annual VQ Day is calling on the government to supply teachers with thorough information on the benefits of vocational routes. Last year’s event saw more than 300 schools, colleges and work-based providers get involved.

The survey also found that over a quarter of students interviewed had been told that VQs were aimed at pupils who were less bright.

On Monday Ed Miliband spoke about the “snobbery” that exists towards non-academic education.

“Social mobility can’t just be about changing the odds that young people from poor backgrounds will make it to university,” he said.

“We must reject the snobbery that says the only route to social moblilty is through university, as if only one kind of path to success matters.”

The Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has been lobbying Ofsted to include impartial advice on vocational qualifications in school inspections.

The chief executive of the organisation, Graham Hoyle, said: “Schools will be required by law from this September to offer impartial advice to their students from an external independent advisory service and it will not be enough to simply refer the students to a careers website.

“The big concern is that checks won’t be made to see if schools are complying with the new statutory guidance unless Ofsted inspectors are given a role to play in overcoming the remaining stigma against vocational learning.

“Recent commitments from ministers are reassuring and it’s important that their determination to see compliance is fully followed through wherever problems are identified.”

The event will be held at the Bafta Picaddilly June 20.

More than two in five businesses operating in the UK do not provide training opportunities for their staff, according to research by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES).

The survey, one of the largest ever undertaken in the world, also found that less than half of people in semi-skilled roles had received training in the past year.

Jeremy Anderson, chairman of global financial services practice at KPMG and a commissioner at the UKCES, said: “Some employers are outstanding at training their staff, but many are not.

“This has led to the development of so-called ‘skills potholes’ – areas, sectors or occupations which are suffering from deep, painful and persistent skills gaps.

“Like potholes they are often ignored, but risk making the road to economic recovery throughout the UK bumpier and slower than it needs to be.”

The UKCES survey found that employers in the UK spent a total of £49 billion on training during the 12 months prior to being interviewed.

Businesses well equipped with the skills that training brings are most likely to succeed.”

However, 45 per cent of respondents said they didn’t have a training plan or budget for training expenditure.

Mr Anderson added: “By encouraging employers to step up and take greater responsibility for the skills needs of their people we will help to align public and private investment in skills and fill in these potholes.

“But there are simple things that employers must do to help themselves, such as seeing training as an investment not a cost, being clear on what outcomes should be achieved from training and ensuring that employees have the opportunity not only to be trained but to put their training into practice.

“These simple steps can make a real difference.”

The Skills Survey 2011, which involved more than 85,000 interviews held between March and July last year, found that “elementary occupations” such as bar staff, cleaners, taxi drivers and machinists were the least likely to receive new or additional training.

However, the survey did find that 70 per cent of staff in the personal service industries, including child-minders, care assistants and nurses, had received training in the past 12 months.

John Hayes MP, minister of state for further education, skills and lifelong learning, said: “Businesses well equipped with the skills that training brings are most likely to succeed.

“We know that businesses that don’t train their staff are twice as likely to fail and there’s a very strong link between low skills, poverty and unemployment.”

Eighty per cent of employers who said they were struggling to fill vacancies due to a lack of skilled applicants admitted that it was forcing their staff to take on an increased workload.

Businesses later added that it was having “rising knock-on effects” on both morale and retention of staff.

“More direct impacts on performance were also commonly cited (47 per cent of those with any skill-shortage vacancies say they struggle to meet customer service objectives, 45 per cent have had to delay developing new products or services and 44 per cent have lost business to competitors), risking the competitiveness of the business,” the survey report reads.

The UKCES survey also found that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of employers in the UK had recruited at least one student straight out of university in the two or three years prior to the survey.

The research says most employers found students leaving education to be well prepared for the workplace, increasing with age and the standard of qualification they’ve achieved.

“Where recruits were considered poorly prepared for work this was most often put down to a lack of experience (of the world of work or, more generally, life experience or maturity), or to personality (poor attitude, or a lack of motivation),” the report reads.

A new community learning fund has been launched today by the Skills Funding Agency (SFA).

The Community Learning Innovation Fund (CLIF), which will be managed by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), will provide grants worth up to £65,000 to learning providers and other organisations.

The funding, worth £4 million in total, will support projects which offer “imaginative community learning opportunities” for adults between September 2012 and the end of July 2013.

Geoff Russell, chief executive of the SFA, said: “I am pleased to announce this Fund.

“We have recently celebrated Adult Learners’ Week, and been inspired by how learning can transform people’s lives by giving them increased self-confidence, a better quality of life, building stronger families and communities.

“We know there is no one-size fits all model of learning, and what is really exciting about this Fund is that it empowers community organisations to think creatively about how they respond to the needs of local people in a sustainable way.”

NIACE say grants will be awarded to projects which widen participation in learning, develop stronger communities and link up with the Community Learning Trusts led by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

“We have seen with the recent Adult and Community Learning Fund how even a very small project can make a huge difference to the lives of individuals, their families and the communities they live in,” said Sue O’Gorman, programme manager at NIACE.

“We are delighted that the Skills Funding Agency has been able to continue their vital support for these kinds of initiatives.

“We want to hear from groups and organisations from across the country which recognise the kind of learning that adults want and need in their communities.

“Together we can help transform the destinies of some of the most marginalised people in society by helping them to progress in ways that are most relevant to their lives.”

A prospectus published by NIACE says the funding can be used for all aspects of the project, including salary costs, equipment, staff training and marketing.

Grants worth £50,000 or more must be submitted to NIACE by June 28.

However, bids for projects worth less than £50,000 can be submitted by midday on July 5.

The prospectus says successful bids will be informed on August 16, with contracts issued “as soon as possible thereafter”.