For and Against: Lifelong Learning

Skills matter in all kinds of ways. They matter for individuals as they allow people to fulfil their potential. They matter for communities as when each feels valued, all feel valued. And they matter for Britain as we come to understand that the country’s future prosperity lies in a high-tech, highly skilled economy. And so a macro economic policy, as well as dealing with deficit and the role of government, needs to recalibrate our workforce skills in order to meet the challenge.To that end, I was appointed Minister for Skills. I see my role in developing the nation’s technology skills as central to that macro-economic purpose. That business is creating economic sustainability, plus social sustainability. I reflected on that when I went along to the WorldSkills UK 2011 event.

I won’t just say that it was impressive. It was a phenomenon in terms of scale, quality and the inspirational effect it had on all those participating in it and all those that visited it. A thousand competitors from more than 15 countries; more than 100,000 visitors. The Prime Minister came too, and was just as impressed with the immense quality of the event, calling it “the greatest skills event in modern history”.

We need to understand how powerful this is. Powerful not just because of its episodic effect, but because what it says about the power of skills to transform life, and what it says about British excellence.

Recently I was up at Halewood with Jaguar Land Rover, where I met apprentices and senior managers, and people who trained apprentices. I was struck that Britain can be a world-beater with the right product, management and skills.

Commentators often criticise my passion, my commitment for driving up skills because they have become part of – in my judgement – a very unhappy orthodoxy that assumes that the only way to achieve prowess is through academic accomplishment. All the technical, vocational, practical talents deserve their place in the sun, and WorldSkills sums that up. It shows people doing their best, making an immense contribution to who we are as a people.

That pessimism about skills is not what I see when I visit colleges or training providers around the country, which I do just about every week. I talk to employers about just how much apprentices and apprenticeships make a difference to them. I meet employers and providers who understand that by investing in skills their businesses can make a difference. The real story about skills is not to be found in the statistics but in the everyday experiences that businesses have. When they take on the right people and provide them with the right training, they can build on their productivity and they can improve their competitiveness.

So let’s be clear about that relationship, and let’s be clear that we can no longer afford not to invest in skills.

The other aspect of skills is that once they are acquired they should be managed and applied properly. There is evidence to say that this doesn’t always happen. So the role of management, not only in making the right strategic decisions when it comes to delivering skills, but also in the decisions made about providing them, is critical.

Some business people say that they’re reluctant to become involved in training because it’s easier to just go out and buy the skills they need to grow and to thrive, if necessary by looking abroad. But that’s a short-term fix not a long-term solution to Britain’s skills shortages.

I appreciate that many companies already engage apprentices in large numbers, as well as training existing staff. You know already what they can do for businesses performance and for their standing within the community. This government will offer at least 250,000 more apprenticeships over this than the previous government planned.

But with nearly one million young people not in education, employment or training, it’s clear we haven’t yet done enough.