Our obsession with purely academic qualifications is selling youngsters short and leaving us in the lurch.

WE are such snobs about jobs. Nearly every three-year-old wants to be Bob the Builder when they grow up, but somehow, we do our best to change their minds. Which is probably why our education system is in such a mess.

Once upon a time, craftsmen were highly respected and valued. They spent years mastering their craft and parents were delighted when their sons were taken on as apprentices. Whether it was as joiners, plumbers, bricklayers, electricians or a host of other trades and crafts, the end result was a job worth having and a respected place in society. But now, it seems, no-one wants to get their hands dirty. Only paper qualifications count - however meaningless they might be.

The old-style apprenticeship system has long gone - with disastrous side effects quite apart from a shortage of plumbers - and modern apprenticeships and training are still very hit and miss affairs, yet to gain general acceptance.

The trouble is that we still think of intellectual achievement as being far superior to technical skills and abilities. Madness.

Why else would the Government want to push at least half of all school leavers into university? Do they really think that a mediocre graduate is worth more than a decent joiner? Too many people do.

But have you ever scoured Yellow Pages for a moral philosopher? Exactly.

The irony is that while "ordinary" young people are ignoring trades, it's the scions of the upper classes that are dabbling in crafts. Lord Linley makes furniture but others are making handbags, jewellery, clothes, training as gardeners, blacksmiths or chefs. If it's alright for them, why not for the rest of us?

Other countries manage these things better. The German education system has always given equal emphasis and respect to both practical and intellectual education - which is possibly why they turn out top rate engineers as well as philosophers.

Mastering a craft is at least as admirable as a degree and should be appreciated as such. After all, if it was good enough for Jesus's dad..

Published: ??/??/2004