Teachers do not think it is their job to prepare pupils for the workplace or give advice about suitable careers, a survey suggests.

Four in ten teachers said that getting students ready for the world of work was not central to their remit and one third thought the number of pupils who go on to get jobs was the least important indicator of a school's success. Two thirds put the number of pupils who get good GCSEs as the top measure of achievement, a successful Ofsted report being the next criterion.

Schools are under pressure to increase the proportion of pupils gaining A*-C grades at GCSE, after the Government said that those with less than 30 per cent could be closed down and reopened as academies.

The survey of 300 teachers across the country indicates that schools regard drilling pupils for exam success as much more important than giving them careers advice. Pupils get only three hours of career-based teaching a month on average, as part of the national curriculum.

Richard Wainer, of the Confederation of British Industry, said: “Too many kids don't get up-to-date advice about what options are available. Schools, businesses and careers services all have a really important role in the standard, quality and quantity of advice.”

Last month the CBI urged the Government to spend more on one-to-one careers advice in schools. Investment of £120 million was needed to encourage pupils to consider science and engineering degrees, to fill the skills shortage in the construction industry, it said.

A separate survey of 500 employers indicated that fewer than one in ten (8.6 per cent) liaised directly with schools about potential careers or work placements for students. But nearly three quarters of businesses said that school-leavers and graduates who had work experience were the most employable candidates.

The Department for Children, Schools and Families said that schools had been issued with standards for career advice “to ensure that every young person receives high-quality, impartial information and guidance, whether it be from schools, colleges or Connexions centres”

The online careers service, b-live, surveyed 323 secondary teachers and 544 employers in a tickbox.net online questionnaire in July.

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