Education charity questions Government's commitment to breaking the link between disadvantage and achievement after 'missed opportunities' in the Queen's Speech
Wednesday 18 November
Responding to the Queen's Speech today (Wednesday 18 November), David Walker, Director of Programme and Public Policy at business-education charity Career Academies UK said:
"We were extremely disappointed to see no mention of employability skills or raising aspirations in the Children, Schools and Families Bill outlined today, and that the Jobs Bill for under-25s was left out altogether.
"With youth unemployment at record levels and business leaders questioning whether the curriculum is even ‘fit-for-purpose' for developing a thriving 21st century workforce, we think this was a real missed opportunity for building on the measures outlined in the Milburn report on social mobility published earlier this year.
"If we are to safeguard the future of UK Plc at the heart of a competitive globalised economy, then there has to be more solid commitment to breaking the link between disadvantage and achievement, through a series of education, skills and employability measures.
"As one of the education bill's ‘guarantees', we would like to see a guarantee that schools adopt measures to foster excellent employability skills and business engagement. There are simple and cost-effective interventions that can be made in collaboration with business and industry - from providing mentors or guest lecturers for classroom talks to offering student internships or visits to the workplace. All of which, as we know from our experience, greatly improve these young people's educational and career expectations and therefore, their chances in life."
Career Academies UK is a national education charity, which works to raise the aspirations of 16 to 19-year-olds. Its annual event for teenagers - A Capital Experience - will take place on Monday 30 November. Over 1,000 students on the Career Academy programme will descend on London for exclusive ‘behind the scenes' access to some of Britain's most influential employers
In the morning the young people will be given workplace tours and take part in Q&A sessions, getting the chance to grill company bosses about what life is like at the top. After lunch, students will gather at the National Theatre to participate in a range of activities led by motivational speaker Dave McQueen, with contributions from serial entrepreneur Shaa Wasmund and Accenture Partner Tim Robinson.
For further information, please contact: Rebecca Griffiths or Amy MacLaren at Colman Getty on 020 7631 2666
rebeccagriffiths@colmangetty.co.uk / amy@colmangetty.co.uk
