That’s according to Simon Briault, spokesperson for the Federation of Small Businesses, who said that the owners of small firms are not as ‘hung up’ on qualifications as larger companies.

‘For an employer, once you get passed the key stages of a potential employee being well presented, on time and having good communication skills and a good basic knowledge of reading and writing, adding up, that kind of thing, what they are looking for is people that will fit into their business,’ he says.

He added that often, the on-the-job training supplied by smaller companies goes unrecognised when compared to course and qualifications, but despite this these kinds of skills are more useful to many enterprises.

‘A lot of small business owners don’t have formal qualifications themselves, so for them it’s not such a hang up when they’re recruiting to get school leavers or university leavers without real qualifications,’ Mr Briault adds.

He explains that the most important thing for these companies is finding someone who is “reliable” and has basic skills to build on.