Britain is in danger of creating "an army of the unemployable" as disillusioned teenagers quit school with no qualifications, the leader of the biggest headteacher's union warned today. Mick Brookes, General Secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said advances in technology are set to slash the number of jobs available for unskilled workers, with potentially disastrous consequences for society. He called for radical changes to primary education to allow young children to develop "fledgling" specialisms.
Speaking at the union's annual conference in Bournemouth, Mr Brookes said: "These young people, who have been denied the taste of success in their school careers, vote with their feet at the earliest opportunity. "We cannot allow a whole army of the nation's youth to leave school with nothing to show for those 11 years except disaffections and resentment. "The current number of unskilled jobs in this country is estimated at about three million today. The effects of technology may well mean a huge shrinkage of this employment market. "When this happens, we will not simply have an army of the unemployed, we will have an army of the unemployable - a huge threat to social cohesion."
Mr Brookes said the government's plan for a new range of diplomas for teenagers must combine work-related and academic study and they must be a success. If they are seen as qualifications for pupils who are not clever enough to do traditional academic GCSEs and A levels, secondary education would be split in to a system reminiscent of grammar schools and secondary moderns.
He continued: "Our primary children should be freed up from the narrow curriculum forced on them and able to develop fledgling specialised skills.
A problem even at that age, eh?
"We have a huge job to do in order to change a centuries old culture that adulates academic success and sneers at skills of the artisan.
Desperate, eh?
"Young people who develop expertise in building, hospitality, catering or the travel trade deserve the same "applause" as those who go on from school to university," he said.
Yayyy! You stand a chance of getting a job! Good for you! [Father sits back down and picks up beer in disgust]
| Nope, sorry, disagree. I tell my kid: if everyone was a doctor, we'd ... all starve to death. Whether it's the trades, or catering, or digging ditches, any paid job has merit. |
"We must introduce a new culture of respect for those who literally create the infrastructure on which our lives revolve," he said.
If they get a job because of it, why not.
OK, some folks are going to have a hard time getting jobs, and should be applauded for managing to fit into society if they find one. But to have to rejigger the whole system because of some kind of what I'll bet is an epidemic of entitlement and ignorance of how things work? It sounds to me like it's time to introduce a 90% estate tax or a hard limit on how much wealth can be handed down and how much social security you're allowed to receive in your lifetime unless you have a verifiable problem like being quadriplegic. And the kids ought to be made aware of it. AT AN EARLY AGE. Show them what's on the other side of the tracks if they don't. Teach them why civilizations rise and fall. Show them what happens to people in failed civilizations.
You just know people are going to head straight for the mental problem excuse, which is like using human shields and will be a problem, but maybe that would go away if they were allowed no cash at all until they felt "better". Just a place to live and food to eat. And nothing overly stimulating to do. And lots of "interesting" roommates. |