More has to be done to make sure youngsters in the UK get suitable careers advice, an expert has insisted.

According to Chris Jones, director general and chief executive of City & Guilds, efforts to ensure young people get the support they deserve need to be stepped up.

This, he said, would help to close the "gaps between education and employment" and prevent "our young people from slipping through the system".

Mr Jones was speaking after a study by City & Guilds revealed that just 26 per cent of 16 to 18-year-olds have been given the chance to go on a work experience placement. This is despite the fact that 88 per cent of those who did so found it extremely useful.

The organisation believes more needs to be done to correct this imbalance in order to tackle the problem of youth unemployment in the UK. Indeed, it has argued that a "more cohesive strategy" has to be introduced to get more young people into work.

City & Guilds has proposed setting up an All-Party Parliamentary Group to address the problem and "get to grips with the root causes" of youth unemployment.

Mr Jones said this could "bring together key stakeholders across education, business and the government to tackle this problem – working together to get young people working".

Nevertheless, many youngsters in the UK remain positive about their prospects in later life.

For instance, 71 per cent of people aged between 16 and 18 are hopeful they will be successful in the future, along with 61 per cent of seven to 11-year-olds.

Furthermore, youngsters of all ages seemed to acknowledge that they need to work hard in order to secure their ideal position.

This comes after government figures revealed that between December 2011 and February 2012, the number of people in employment went up by 53,000 to 29.17 million, when compared with the previous quarter.

Chris Grayling, the employment minister, has described this development as a "step in the right direction", but warned there is still "a long way to go".

"There are still economic challenges ahead and the government is reacting by helping people to find employment through initiatives with the private sector at their heart," he commented.