It’s a difficult time to be a graduate. Thousands of debt laden young people leave university this summer, aware that it’s increasingly difficult to find employment commensurate with their qualifications - surveys report over a hundred applicants for each vacancy and employers turning to AI bots to sift through candidates. Previous comment on this blog … Continue reading What price a graduate?
Tag: news
The State we’re in
Labour’s planned increases in everyday spending - £190 billion over the remainder of the parliament, announced in last week’s ‘spending review’ - are firefighting measures, being nowhere near enough to rebuild public services after ’14 wasted years’. Labour’s increases are also dependent on the economy continuing to expand and generate additional taxation revenue. With a … Continue reading The State we’re in
Labour’s new immigration polices
Labour’s new policy stance on immigration has inevitably led to allegations of racism by its critics, but also from many of its own supporters. It’s difficult to refute these claims or deny it's a capitulation to Reform. Though Labour tread carefully on this issue, it’s also the case that post-Brexit, large numbers of the (legal) … Continue reading Labour’s new immigration polices
Making Further Education fit for the Future?
The Parliamentary Education Committee has set up an enquiry - Making Further Education fit for the Future? https://committees.parliament.uk/call-for-evidence/3576/ Any enquiry into this forgotten sector is to be welcome, but its title is rather a misnomer - it isn’t really a enquiry about FE at all. As its subtitle and the initial terms of reference for … Continue reading Making Further Education fit for the Future?
Young people and support for Reform.
Although Generation Z (all those born in the late 1990s to 2010) is known for its diverse and evolving political views, generally it’s seen as more liberal compared to older generations. Tending to back progressive causes (particularly action on climate change) it is considered to lean left. It’s dependency on social media (the ‘zoomers’) and … Continue reading Young people and support for Reform.
Young people, BTECs, T-levels and ‘working on the buildings’
Labour has always supported T-levels as alternatives to academic qualifications, but in pre-election press releases it also committed to a ‘pause and review’ of Tory plans to defund over 140 qualifications which were considered to overlap with the Ts. This including many established BTECs and other National level 3 options. Cuts scheduled for the end … Continue reading Young people, BTECs, T-levels and ‘working on the buildings’
The White Paper, immigration, automation.
In press releases leading up to the recent White Paper Getting Britain Working, Labour frontbenchers argued that the high levels of economic inactivity, particularly the increased number of NEETs, prevents the UK economy from growing. The question is whether the various support measures outlined in the WP are likely to backed up by more detailed … Continue reading The White Paper, immigration, automation.
Labour’s White Paper – just a damp squib?
This week has seen the publication of a Labour White Paper Getting Britain Working, though as Shadow spokesperson and in the run up to the election, Liz Kendall had already set out her intentions to challenge ‘worklessness’. Though the UK has relatively low rates of unemployment, at least in historical terms, it has lower rates … Continue reading Labour’s White Paper – just a damp squib?
Goodbye to the Institute of Apprenticeships… Hello to Skills England
The new Labour government is abolishing the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) – rather it will be subsumed into a new body called Skills England. Created in 2017 to revamp the UKs ailing apprenticeship system, its remit was widened to include responsibility for the new T-level qualifications, to be delivered as full-time courses, … Continue reading Goodbye to the Institute of Apprenticeships… Hello to Skills England
Does the Reeves budget take things forward?
Make no mistake, there are some progressive intentions behind this week’s budget, as the Starmer government sets out to address the UK economy’s miserable performance since the financial crash, the rapid decline of public services and disintegrating infrastructure. Labour plans a £70 billion increase in public spending, with over £20 billion for the NHS, just … Continue reading Does the Reeves budget take things forward?
Education, Economy and Society 