Whether you have a son or daughter just finishing their summer exams or you’re a hi-tech manufacturer hoping to add to your pool of skilled technicians, we all want young people to be given the opportunity to fulfil their potential – not just in work, but in life.
But the education system must do more to prepare them for life outside the school gates - or we risk wasting our greatest asset.
There is no bigger issue facing our economy today than getting the education and skills system in the right shape to meet rising demand for a highly motivated, highly skilled workforce to underpin our future economic success.
This year’s recently published CBI/Pearson education and skills survey spells out exactly why we can no longer afford to tolerate a system that seems to be unable to deliver.
Over half of British firms are concerned about the resilience and self-management skills of school leavers and a third with their attitude towards work. Just under half of all firms are worried that young people making the jump from the classroom to the meeting room do not possess enough knowledge of their chosen careers or have relevant work experience.
This reflects business opinion that the careers advice system is in a perilous state, with four out of five firms saying it’s simply not up to the task. By contrast, almost all firms are more than happy with the IT skills of our young people as they enter work.
The journey we all make from school to the workplace can be very daunting so incentivising our schools, colleges and universities to produce students with the grit, ambition and emotional intelligence needed to build successful careers would help.
We also need to clearly set out what we want our schools to deliver and then hold them to account against it.
Governments in Wales and England redesign exams and expect them to change the system, rather than changing the system and using exams to accredit it. We need to take a step back to see the big picture and create a system that better reflects how well a school’s culture nurtures the behaviours and attitudes young people need. This cannot be judged by exam results alone.
This year’s survey also shows us that many businesses remain concerned about the challenges they have to fill the roles of the future. Almost half of firms are worried about both the quality and quantity of science, technology, engineering and maths graduates, and increasingly have problems recruiting the highly-skilled staff they need to grow. The Welsh Government must explore if it’s possible to reduce the costs of some of these courses and create a one-year crossover qualification for those who turned away from science and maths after GCSEs, but now want to take a related degree.
The increasing divergence of school and qualification performance in the different parts of the UK is becoming a concern for businesses. School and exam systems are one of the main responsibilities devolved to the governments of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and recent reforms to qualifications have moved these systems even further away from each other.
The survey revealed that almost two thirds of employers believe it is important that qualifications from all parts of the UK are comparable and readily understood by employers. While devolution of control over schools is something business supports, clarity over standards and exam rigour is an essential part of ensuring all young people get the education the need, and that employers are clear about the level students have reached.
A particular concern flagged in the survey is where exams with the same name - for instance the English GCSE and the Welsh GCSE - are held to differing standards. Businesses in all parts of the UK need to be confident that they can recruit people with genuinely comparable levels of qualification and that they are clear about the level of skills and knowledge that can be expected among those recruits.
Otherwise there is a real risk of the UK qualifications landscape becoming increasingly confusing, to the detriment of young people and their potential employers.
We know from the example of the Scottish qualification system that a differentiated system can work well, but what is key here is clarity and employer confidence, so it is essential all devolved governments are able to learn from each other about what works.
But it’s not enough for business to stand on the sidelines, firms must also play their part. There have been positive steps to move towards the employer-driven skills system we need, but increased business engagement can equally add value to a school’s environment - from involvement in careers guidance and staff volunteering as governors, to sponsoring academies and supporting teachers to deliver motivational and inspiring lessons.
We’ve got to make sure that every young person receives an education that will enable him or her to fulfil their true potential – in every school and college across the UK, whatever the area and whoever is in charge. We’re hearing the right noises from politicians across the board these days, and seeing some progress, but the need for genuine reform of the system remains.
Emma Watkins is director of CBI Wales
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