Life lessons

LORD HESELTINE said it was impossible to overstate the significance of education to shape the sort of society we want to live in. His report, No Stone Unturned: In Pursuit of Growth, which the NEvolution campaign is calling for the Government to implement, devoted a whole chapter to the importance of a workforce with the right skills and education.

The Tory peer noted that, as international competition intensifies, society becomes more complex and technological change accelerates, the health of our economy will come to rely more and more on high levels of educational attainment and the availability of skilled workers.

While welcoming the policies of the coalition Government, the peer says we are still some way from our goal of ensuring that our education and skills levels are up to those of the world’s best. It is a sentiment supported by business leaders and company bosses in the North-East, who say it is vital that, in order to get the best results, the Government devolves powers and funding for skills to the region.

Ross Smith, director of policy at the North East Chamber of Commerce, says the organisation’s members regularly identify a shortage of workers with the right skills as the number one barrier holding their company back.

“If it’s not number one of the list, it’s usually second,” he says.

Mr Smith believes it is crucial the Government gives the region funding and powers to influence the skills being taught.

“At the moment we have got a system where we have a uniform national amount paid to colleges and training providers to provide certain skills but it doesn’t reflect what skills are needed in that area.” he says.

“We can have quite an impact if we have the ability to give extra incentives to colleges to provide the skills needed.”

Ted Salmon is chairman of the North-East branch of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

He says it is critical we get the skills base right to help achieve the North-East’s economic potential, adding: “The skills and training system is the bedrock of our economic growth and should be controlled regionally.

“We have some amazing talent in the North- East which we need to nurture to help us reach our ambitions as a region.”

Mr Salmon says FSB research shows that small businesses are not confident students are leaving school at 16 with the right level of employability skills. Helping small businesses take on more apprentices is key, he adds.

GARY THOMPSON, managing director of green innovation company C2M (UK), of Spennymoor, County Durham, says students that the company considers employing are usually missing essential qualities, with the skills shortage in engineering in a “dire situation”.

He adds: “If students go onto further education, they should be taught the skills industry needs both now and in the future.

“They need to be taught information that is current and the only way that can happen is if the lecturers are fully aware of industry and there requirements and the processes employed in business today.”

Tim Grant, principal of Darlington College, agrees that there needs to be much closer links between local employers and schools, colleges and universities.

“In order for that to happen, employers need an educational system which is stable and consistent, and free where possible from political meddling,” he says.

“Successive governments all come to office with a mandate for change, but often that is not what the educational system needs. The best education system works when it is stable and predictable and ensures employers know and understand what is being delivered in schools and colleges.

“The most important outcome is the education system provides opportunities for young people, whether is in college, an apprenticeship, further study at university, or work.”

The Government has already pledged to include a budget for skills in the cash promised to local enterprise partnerships, with more details to be announced in the spending review.

Other proposals include: 􀁥 Challenging underperformance in schools, including providing a new role for the regional director of Ofsted in monitoring schools; 􀁥 Forging closer links between employers and education providers to increase students’ awareness of opportunities in local, national and international labour markets; 􀁥 Publishing data to hold local authorities to account on reducing the numbers of young people not in education, employment or training; 􀁥 Ensuring businesses can recruit the skills they need from abroad including by stream-lining UK immigration rules.

Whether these measures will be enough to significantly reduce the skills gap in a region where there are 441,170 people with no qualifications at all remains to be seen.

Lord Heseltine points out that giving young people a good education and the right skills is ultimately not just about creating a capable workforce.

“A child who leaves school with little or no educational attainment is disadvantaged for life – with little hope of finding a way back,” he says.

“Standards rise and technology permeates into even the least demanding of jobs. Many of those dependent on the state are elderly or incapacitated, but millions are not. They simply cannot or will not compete for the jobs that are available.”

For these members of society left behind it is a tragedy, the peer warns.