A way forward, young people and real work
THE majority of people view themselves in terms of hard work, fairness, and values related to their family, friends and community.
The world of work has dramatically changed. Thirty years ago in a town like Leek most workers would be employed by a small number of large employers. For many the work would most likely be semi-skilled.
Today’s working life is very different. Women and men share the workload, often combined with roles of carers, in service industries, care settings etc. Work involves different types of contracts, work patterns and hours, sometimes undertaken by choice to meet individual responsibilities, but often undertaken because of limitations on availability.
At one time work was seen as a way out of poverty. This is no longer the case, as over half of families living in poverty have jobs. The issue for many people who are looking for work or working in a low paid, low trained job is that, without some development of skills, they will be locked into a poverty cycle.
Having a good job for most people involves work being fulfilling and enjoyable, coupled with a clear potential for advancement.
The loss of this traditional style of working further results in a loss of positive role models and settled patterns of work engagement.
These relationships, related to role modelling, team working, respect of authority as earned through skills, knowledge and experience, are crucial for young people entering the world of work.
A partnership is therefore required between employers and educators, particularly at a local level. This type of partnership would ensure that education and career planning was relevant to the needs of the labour market. It would further enhance local communities in building strong ties within the vacuum left by the disappearance of large employers.
Success in education is important. There have been cuts in the education of the poorest children, with funding reduced by £2.7m since 2015. Educational attainment is lower than ever, with literacy and numeracy skills in 16-24 year old in the UK being among the worse in the developed world. Success educationally may not be as important as a readiness to work.
Choices related to Academies, Grammar Schools are all well and good, but there is real need for an education system that provides all young people with the skills and knowledge needed for their future life. This is coupled with the necessity to fulfill employers requirements.
In order to react to local, dynamic workplace needs and demands, it is essential for skills development that strong relationships are built between local level employers and further education providers.
Local FE colleges have seen budget cuts and reduction in course numbers.
The Labour Party has pledged to support the delivery of high quality, employer linked, vocational courses to teach skills to support the service sector and traditional manufacturing.
It is the responsibility under
The Education Act 1996 for Local Authorities to have a strategic overview of local educational provision and resolve paps in the provision. With reference to those aged 16-24 this included apprenticeships and traineeships. The aim of the traineeship is to offer skills experience, in order to move on to an apprenticeship.
This ensures that a young person is job ready, with employers encouraged to provide opportunities to train a young people to fulfil a pool of further recruits/employees.
In order to ensure fairness and equality, employers, employees and colleagues must have trade union representation, to avoid exploitation felt by some current work based students, and develop a culture where students, colleges and employers stand together with an empowered workforce enhancing the workplace.
Work based education should be afforded the same dignity and respect as graduate entry professions. Businesses should be given incentives to collaborate with colleges and schools, in order to develop necessary skills and knowledge for today’s varied and every changing work skills sets.
Council leader, Sybil Ralph’s states in the Staffordshire Moorlands 2018 Investment Prospectus. ‘Leek is ideally placed to offer developers and investors the right environment to support business growth.’
Further, related to students and Leek College as ‘providing students with a first class learning environment equipping them with skills they’ll need as they move into employment.’
I look forward to reading any detail related to this promise in the near future. The way forward for the labour market in Leek, and elsewhere, is to encourage employers to invest locally, and work collaboratively, with educational establishments to produce skilled, valued workers who are secure, rewarded and satisfied with their working lives.