Queen’s Speech — House of Lords, 2017-06-29
Topic: Education
Deborah Stedman-Scott (Conservative, Centre-right): My Lords, I draw attention to my registered interests. The gracious Speech confirms that the Government, "will strengthen the economy so that it supports the creation of jobs and generates the tax revenues needed to invest in the National Health Service, schools and other public services" I, like many others, wholeheartedly support this. Recently, though, I heard of a forecast that a significant number of retail jobs, as we know them today, will go in the next decade—I think that the number was 900,000 but I may have had a bad moment when I was listening to the number. This is not surprising, really, as people move to a more digital method of shopping. As these jobs decline, new ones will arise which will have a significant digital skill requirement if we are to meet the needs of the retail industry We look to our education system to have a curriculum that helps our young people to acquire the skills that they will need in order to become part of a highly skilled and motivated workforce. I believe that the Government have demonstrated a real commitment to ensuring that our technical and vocational education starts to meet the challenges of the labour market going forward but, in the words of one of my most respected leaders, General William Booth, who started the Salvation Army: "That and better will do" I know many people who feel quite inadequate that they were not given the opportunity to attend university, but they run companies that provide vital services to the public when they really need them. Let us hope that, as part of the progress that we need to make, we see academic and technical and vocational education receive equal billing in the future. It should be about meeting labour market needs, not just a target for people going to university The FSB has said of technical education that: "The vote to leave the EU has emphasised the need to future-proof", the UK’s, "approach to skills. Our research shows that small employers with EU workers are particularly reliant on mid-skilled workers who often require a technical vocational education" So this applies not just to young people but to those in the workforce already. The reforms to technical education must focus on delivering quality skills that are valued by employers and help to address future skills needs I do not wish in any way to be negative about the commitment in the gracious Speech that I have already referred to, but let us look for a moment at one industry where growth and opportunity is on the up yet pupils choosing to study the subjects relating to the industry show worrying trends. The engineering, manufacturing and creative sectors are together worth more than £500 billion to the economy, or 29% of the total. However, since the introduction of the EBacc to which the noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, referred—and I may say to the noble Baroness that, if I was not already on a diet, I certainly would be after what she said—and the introduction, in 2010, of the target for 90% of pupils to study the EBacc at key stage 4, there has been a fall of 140,000, or 21%, in the number of creative and technical GCSE entries. Those are the very subjects that will give young people the skills which are needed in the labour market. Included in this figure was a sharp decline in entries for design and technology, which is crucial in preparing the next generation of engineers and technicians. The fall in these entries is almost 36%. Again, I am not making these points to be negative or difficult. However, if we are to maximise job creation and tax revenues, I suggest that we need to make sure our education system plays its full part in achieving this The House has had many debates about good-quality careers advice. I promise your Lordships that I am not going to start another one, save to plead that our young people get the best careers and labour market advice in order that they can make the best decisions about their future working life The final area I wish to speak about is the voluntary sector. There are some outstanding high-performing and effective charities that help people to play their full part in the workforce—people who, in their educational experience, for one reason or another have not achieved anything like their full potential. Social justice must be our mantra and here is a way to demonstrate it. The opportunity for these organisations to work in the true spirit of both economic and social partnerships should know no bounds. In nearly all our debates, we talk about money and the lack of it, but we have not had too many where we talk about how we could increase it. However, I am absolutely clear that, if government, business and this sector worked together in a true spirit of partnership, innovation in generating more income through social impact bonds could really help our society. I commend to the House the great work of Big Society Capital, Social Finance, Bridges Ventures and the great work of Mark Fisher and his team at the Centre for Social Impact Bonds. Can we please invest more time in overcoming the barriers to success I recently attended a briefing given by a professor who worked on the team that landed a satellite on a comet. I sometimes feel that meeting the challenges we have heard about in this debate will be like landing a satellite on a comet. When the team landed the satellite on the comet, it was on the wrong side and the solar panels could not generate the power that was needed to do all their experiments. However, instead of moaning and falling out with each other, the people involved got together. They were going to have something like seven days to do their experiments; they ended up with about 24 hours. However, the seven countries involved all took less time to do their experiments, they all collaborated in a collegiate fashion and they obtained the information they need. Let us hope that spirit drives our country forward.