Lester_Bigot Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 How can this be solved? our education system seems to have severe weaknesses, more and more people are studying and getting high level qualifications, yet the skills gap appears to be growing ever wider. What is the answer? 1) Import the skills, ie bring in skilled workers from abroad? 2) Our Education system needs to be changed, to meet the needs of the country I personally think option number 2 would be better, it could be a fantastic way of GENUINELY reducing the numbers of people signing on, and solve our skills shortage problem all at the same time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer1974 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 This is happening because of a deliberate policy of successive governments to make everyone think they are clever enough/entitled to a university education. Suddenly, because of that, nobody wants to learn a good honest trade. We have millions of Mr and Mrs Averages who think they can be nuclear physicists, whereas the closest they get to particle physics is frying hash browns at Maccy Ds. By the time they realise that the little bit of paper with "2.2" written on it counts for naff all, it's too late. They should have got a meaningful qualification, and become a plumber, gas fitter, plasterer, carpenter, etc, etc... because they're the ones who are earning big money now - supply and demand has come full circle. That's what I think anyways. What does everyone else think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phanerothyme Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Put all the telephone sanitisers and web designers and ad execs and humanities lecturers on a big spaceship and send em off into space. Suddenly the average utility of each citizen doubles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lester_Bigot Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 . They should have got a meaningful qualification, and become a plumber, gas fitter, plasterer, carpenter, etc, etc... because they're the ones who are earning big money now - supply and demand has come full circle. The problem is, there are no apprenticeships these days. Its all well and good getting the piece of paper in the above trades, but its hands on practical experience that counts. Are there any apprenticeships anymore? if so, which companys offer them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
max Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Where's this skills shortage then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Where's this skills shortage then? Call Centres and Internet technical support helplines for a start... I have no disrespect for any Irish people, hell my Mum's very good friends with an Irish lady that lives near Hillsborough, but oh when I was on AOhell dial up back in the late 1990s, their tech "support" (and I use the term VERY loosely in their case) personnell were Irish, and they had REALLY strong accents, and about as much IT knowledge as my 65 year old Uncle, ie next to none Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 The so-called "skills shortage" is in fact a shortage of skilled people that are prepared to work for the relatively lower salaries being offered today. There is no shortage of skilled nurses, despite what the government keeps trotting out. There are, however skilled nurses who can earn more money in other jobs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cgksheff Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 ........ but oh when I was on AOhell dial up back in the late 1990s, their tech "support" (and I use the term VERY loosely in their case) personnell were Irish, and they had REALLY strong accents, ... Probably because they were sat in a call centre situated in Ireland!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babychickens Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 seriously, is there a shortage of scientists in this country? nurses? teachers? should the education system be altered so that more kids take A levels in science subjects? No. There are plenty of scientists, teachers and nurses here already. However, the jobs aren't paid well enough for any but the most devoted/those with few other options/the lucky few, the conditions are often rubbish, and the job stability is shocking. why make more kids take A level chemistry? if you take a degree in a science subject, you're pretty much stuck with a rubbish job as a scientist, complete with rubbish conditions, and the same goes for nursing. The education system needs overhauling, but there's no point making kids do science subjects if there aren't decent jobs available for them. i for one wish i'd not bothered with my degree, or even my phd, and had just trained as an electrician - there must be a fair amount of demand for female electricians. I could have left school at 16 for that. either that, or one of my mates suggested setting up a topless plastering business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer1974 Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Perhaps the government should set national targets each year for the numbers required in each skills field, based on consultation with industry bodies. Then that should be filtered down to each local education authority to implement as best they can. For example, they should have targets of 10 per cent military, 20 per cent scientists, 20 per cent artists, 20 per cent construction, 30 per cent service industry. They do that in journalism, whereby they will alter the "pass" level in your exams depending on how many jobs for qualified people they expect there to be in any given year. Discuss.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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