Our new labour government thinks "doing nothing is not an
option" for the unemployed. They must get a job, train
or do something socially useful like go into schools and
help kids to read.
Socially deprived areas (where 70% of households have
no-one working) will be targeted with extra education
and schemes to give skills to residents so that they
can compete on the world job market.
On a wider level we are emphasising "education, education,
education" to make young and old flexibly skilled for the
same competition.
With a flexible highly-skilled labour force, it will be
possible to set a minimum wage that will give everybody
a good living and not price anyone out of a job.
But education is failing to deliver the useful skills.
Radio 4's, "The Commission" concluded that many pupils would
learn relevant skills by going out to work at 14 rather
than being locked up in school learning nothing much of any
value.
As for graduates, one employer puts his view like this:
"Many of them have been institutionalised by being in
education until they are 19, 20 or 21 and have the social
skills of a caterpillar." He may not be representative but
there are other straws in this wind.(see www.faxfn.org)
But why bother with examples? We all know this score and we
also know that whatever the successes of the education
system, it is not possible for it to be the major instrument
of economic policy which ensures full employment at a decent
minimum wage.
For that the politicians may have to turn to the "political
science fiction" of the citizens income, or labour subsidies
for the lower paid, that can actually help create jobs. But
remember : Political science fiction can become political
science fact.
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