‘We are not there to produce fodder for industry’ so said a feminist teacher to me during a discussion in the seventies. This was a period of rising militancy in the teaching unions, and among feminists in particular. My argument that preparation of pupils for the world of work was an important function of the education industry was waved airily aside. Since those days, education has become increasingly distanced from industry and commerce.
I was reminded of this teacher’s dismissive attitude this morning, upon reading that British educated students are believed by numerous managers in industry to be inferior to immigrants as potential employees. Once again, numeracy and literacy are specified as problem areas.
In the mid-eighties I was the management development manager with a conglomerate in the East Midlands. That role involved me in the selection and development of young people who aspired to a management role. I found myself forced to introduce remedial training in literacy and numeracy for successful applicants who had good grades at ‘A’ levels in those areas.
Boadicea's Chariot 
I agree absolutely that ‘education’ should not be about producing ‘fodder’ for industry. It should be far more than simply providing the skills that industry needs – appreciation of art, culture, etc should also be part of a ‘whole’ person’s education.
However, what that seventies-mob (and they were not only female and feminists I might add!) seem to have forgotten is that the simple skills of literacy and numeracy are essential to anyone who lives in modern society just to get through life on a day-to-day basis.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before the checkout person who resorted to a calculator to work out total price of ten identical items!
Hello Boadicea, the ‘fodder’ remark was made in response to my suggestion that preparing pupils for the world of work was an important part of the role, I had not said that it was the role was confined to that. I agree about the ‘whole person’, that was the argument advanced at the time, but it seems to me that teachers have failed on more than numeracy and literacy, if my grandchildrens’ appreciation of the arts and cultural interests are anything to judge by.
That is a new one to me, Janus.
Unfortunately far too many of that breed of teachers thought that teaching the basic skills was tantamount to selling children into industrial slavery. And I agree about the lack of appreciation of the arts, etc. 🙂
By the nineties I found that it was a waste of time employing anyone behind the bar under their late twenties. The younger ones couldn’t add up a round of drinks in their heads to save their lives! Plus they were inherently bad employees, late, slocky, poor at self motivating when quiet, no conversation, need I go on? Mostly they appeared to resent training and discipline, the usual ‘you owed them’ and ‘I’m doing you a favour’ attitude.
If they were half way reasonable I started them in the kitchens where they could not be seen and trained them up to wait tables, but they never got behind the bar!
Fortunately the place was big enough to have good, mature full time employees as the backbone of the establishment, most of them were over 40 and had learnt their craft skills as apprentices and day release.
The teaching profession lost its way in political cant decades ago and look at the results now!
Most of them are unemployable.
How I agree with the author and all the comments. In the mad rush to make sure that pupils were free to express themselves, too many teachers forgot to provide the basic essentials for such a thing, like grammar and spelling. The sad state of education has been spoiling the lives of too many pupils for years now. Obviously the home background that does not provide the discipline required to turn up on time for work does not help either.
One problem faced by recruiters is the behaviour of candidates who seem not to have a clue how to conduct themselves in a formal situation. I read a little while ago of a youth addressing the interviewer as ‘mate’.
I posted this elsewhere today
Quote
Why British Graduates are losing jobs to immigrants
We have seen a lot in the press recently about British graduates losing out in the job market to immigrants: the reasons quoted could be a little misleading when blanket statements are made concerning their education level.
I have no reason to believe that our universities are any worse than other countries universities; in fact I would say that our universities, on the whole, surpass many others. If this was not the case then why are so many foreigners applying to join our top performing universities? We rarely, if ever, see UK students applying to a university in Lahore or Mumbai, even though their standards are very good.
The Mail today states that “Managers believe that British candidates do not have the skills to match migrants and that the readiness of Britons for work is getting worse each year”.
I would probably agree with the second part of this statement, it is not so much education level as readiness and attitude to do the work or accept a position.
This attitude portrayed by the British workforce has been there for years and is ingrained into their psyche. It is one of travelling to and from work and the ability to use common sense.
As recruiters we hear time and time again from candidates “willing to commute up to half an hour” or “not willing to relocate”.
In other countries people will travel enormous distances to work, some will stay away during the week and just return home for weekends, others will up sticks and move house. I appreciate that if you have kids of school age travel may cause a problem, but if not then go to where the work is.
The other problem being attitude, many graduates do not want to start at the bottom; they want to join the company at a senior level to start with. These are old aspirations from a time when very few school leavers attended uni and those that did stood out as better educated. Now most kids leave school and take up a degree course of some sort. Quite often not related to the job they are now applying for.
The attitude problem has stemmed from our ‘no losers’ way of life taught in our schools, and in the youth being cosseted from the real world and the realities of how competitive things are out there.
We must teach our youth that if they really want a job and a career then they must go out there and fight for it themselves.
If our government really want to help our graduates find work then they should consider some form of training in “how to promote yourself” this would prove very cost effective because the benefit queue would not be swelled by unemployed youngsters.
end quote
Rick, I agree wholeheartedly with everything you say.
Tom – A proper education is so much more than grades.
OZ
Christina, your interview techniques must be pretty dire, why employ people that don’t fit the job in the first place?