Australia's education system came under fire on Thursday, as a new report revealed it had failed to prepare students for the modern workforce.

The report by the Center for Skills Development said the education system was too focused on basics like literacy, numeracyand computing, neglecting more complex things such as teamwork and emotional intelligence.

Sheryle Moon, the co-author of the report, said young people needed more complex skills for the modern workforce.

"We live in a globalized world where people need a different set of skills than they needed in the 1970s or the 1980s," she said.

"It's less about task focus, or hand skills, it's more about brain skills and how you interact with other people."

The paper suggested students needed to develop more sophisticated technology and communication skills at school to find jobs. It noted teachers also needed to be equipped with more advanced technology skills.

"If teachers don't understand the application of technology -- the collaborative environment technology facilitates -- and build that into the curriculum, then young Australians will go out into the workforce with an incomplete set of skills," she said.

(www.eduwo.com, Jainlyn&Charlotte)