There’s been an absence of serious books about class for some years. In A Nation of Shopkeepers, The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie, Dan Evans draws on academic, political sources and his own personal experiences to tackle difficult issues about the 'middle' of society. Even if the perspective he adopts is not without controversy. Though … Continue reading Book review. A Nation of Shopkeepers.
Author: Martin Allen
Want an apprenticeship? Join the military!
https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships Apprenticeship data updated yesterday shows starts between August and January down by 4.1% to 195,600 compared to 203,990 reported for the same period in the previous year. Covering a period when young people traditionally leave school or college, under 19s accounted for just 28.4% of these (55,580). These figures will now feature in 2022/3 totals. The … Continue reading Want an apprenticeship? Join the military!
ChatGPT: the end of the essay?
ChatGPT is becoming one of the most talked about developments in AI and machine learning. Although it is still in its infancy, ask it a question, or give it a prompt on its website and you will get an instant 'human-like' written response. ChatGPT can be used as a tool to generate text, translate language, … Continue reading ChatGPT: the end of the essay?
‘Off to work we go’?
Jeremy Hunt’s budget is unlikely to get many more people into the labour market. Most of the newspaper headlines have focussed on the child care reforms – particularly providing up to 30 hours for very young children (from 9 months to 2 years) but, as child care sector representatives have been quick to point out, … Continue reading ‘Off to work we go’?
Youth joblessness
The UK labour market remains tight, with government now concerned about the shortage of workers pushing up inflation. Though ONS monthly figures show a marginal increase in the unemployment rate for October to December 2022 by 0.1 percentage points on the quarter, to 3.7%, the ‘economic inactivity’ rate (those not in, but not actively looking … Continue reading Youth joblessness
Defending Btec’s : unlikely allies?
Former New Labour education minister David Blunkett and Kenneth Baker, architect of the National Curriculum under Thatcher continue to sound alarm bells on the government’s plan to scrap popular vocational and technical qualifications in England and push students into taking new T-levels. Supported by former Tory University ministers David Willetts and Jo Johnson, also members … Continue reading Defending Btec’s : unlikely allies?
Teachers back on strike
Thousands of teachers, members of the National Education Union in England and Wales have joined up to half a million other public sector workers taking strike action. (EIS members in Scotland have already started a programme of industrial action.) 70,000 UCU members in over 100 universities, were also due to be on strike. This has … Continue reading Teachers back on strike
Qualifications: creating or chasing jobs?
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics reveal the qualifications divide between different parts of England. Subsequent comment has focussed on almost half of people in London (46.7%) holding a degree or similar qualification compared with under a third (28.6%) in areas like the north-east. The percentage in London was considerably higher than in … Continue reading Qualifications: creating or chasing jobs?
Apprenticeships: still not a real alternative for young people.
Some eight years after David Cameron promised 3 million more, apprenticeships have failed to provide real opportunities for all but a few of those young people not able to or not wanting to continue to higher education. This, rather than a 'skills crisis' is the real reason for the introduction of yet another full-time vocational … Continue reading Apprenticeships: still not a real alternative for young people.
With Millennials voting, things can only get better?
While most people accept that data from recent general elections show young people unlikely to vote Tory. https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-findings/age-and-voting-behaviour-at-the-2019-general-election/#.Y7KwWyjMJOg It has also been argued that political sympathies are likely to change with age. The popular press continues to bang on about ‘generation gaps’, while pollsters have reported big shifts in allegiance amongst more elderly voters in … Continue reading With Millennials voting, things can only get better?
Education, Economy and Society 