Author: Martin Allen

Ed Miliband and Apprenticeships

                                      Latest research on apprenticeships  http://radicaledbks.com/  Labour has promised to overhaul apprenticeships –correctly arguing that compared with the demand for them, there has been nowhere near enough and that most have been low level only lasting for a year, often in low paid sectors of the service economy rather than in manufacturing, engineering and construction. Until … Continue reading Ed Miliband and Apprenticeships →

More young people now working. But in what and for what?

The latest labour market statistics from the Office for National Statistics for May to September   (www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/september-2014/statistical-bulletin.html)  show significant falls in unemployment amongst 16-24 years – down to 747 000 (16.6%) from 960 000 (12%)  a year ago and from 853 000 over the last quarter. Amongst  those between 18-24 year who are not in full-time … Continue reading More young people now working. But in what and for what? →

Reshuffling education policy: the new vocationalism

 Patrick Ainley  11 September 2014   Open Democracy   https://www.opendemocracy.net/patrick-ainley/reshuffling-education-policy-new-vocationalism A liberal approach in neo-liberal times means learning about work and not just learning to work. Westminster remains stuck in a rut of recycling failed ideas entirely unsuited to its economic model of low wage, low skill work. Earlier this summer education secretary Michael Gove was pushed … Continue reading Reshuffling education policy: the new vocationalism →

Tristram Hunt and ‘Two Nation’ Labour.

Vocational education is supposed to improve work and employment skills, but many of the vocational courses developed in schools and colleges after the collapse of industrial apprenticeships in the 1970s have not offered real opportunities for young people in the labour market. Instead, a succession of vocational courses and qualifications were introduced, lasted a few … Continue reading Tristram Hunt and ‘Two Nation’ Labour. →

Book Review: The People, The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910-2010

Patrick Ainley When Eric Hobsbawm asked in 1978 whether the forward march of labour had halted, he was calling attention to a possible political reversal, not bidding Farewell to the Working Class as Andre Gorz did two years later. More recently, Guy Standing in 2011 proposed the birth of The Precariat, a ‘dangerous new class’ … Continue reading Book Review: The People, The Rise and Fall of the Working Class 1910-2010 →

The high growth – low wage puzzle.

The fact that the relatively high overall growth of the UK economy has not led to a corresponding increase in wages – the  latest ONS figures now showing real wages are falling  (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lms/labour-market-statistics/august-2014/index.html) – has perplexed policy makers and, for the moment at least, put a brake on an interest rate hike. Wages excluding bonuses … Continue reading The high growth – low wage puzzle. →