Nicola slammed on youth policy – by her own poverty adviser
NICOLA Sturgeon’s own poverty adviser has demanded radical action to encourage more pupils to go into work or training rather than university.
Naomi Eisenstadt said urgent effort was needed in schools to get away from the perception that ‘the only thing we value is the academic route’.
In a humiliating intervention for the First Minister, the woman she personally appointed as poverty adviser demanded more radical action to stop young people being thrown on the unemployment scrapheap or facing a lifetime in low-paid jobs.
She also raised concerns about the consequences of protecting free university tuition for Scottish and EU students – a key boast of Miss Sturgeon – by pointing out colleges have suffered disproportionately high funding cuts under the SNP.
In a damning indictment of the First Minister’s record at tackling the attainment gap, which she has said is a priority for her Government, Miss Eisenstadt listed 18 areas where action is needed before the gap between rich and poor children can start to properly close.
In her final report as the Government’s independent poverty adviser, she said: ‘The Scottish Government’s widening access work is crucial in ensuring that young people from poorer backgrounds can access the same opportunities as their more affluent peers. But it is also important that other routes are valued, both in terms of funding, but also in terms of public attitudes toward less academic career routes.’
She went on: ‘While parity of esteem between academic and non-academic routes is unlikely, given traditional pay differentials, more could be done to value work experience routes, and apprenticeships at all levels, sending a clear message that the economy needs a wide range of skills and capabilities.’
Her report warned that being thrown on the unemployment scrapheap can cause damaging ‘scarring’ to young people that reduces their prospect of getting a well-paid job later in life. She also raised concerns about the Curriculum for Excellence by pointing out it is ‘meant to help young people become confident learners, confident about their own choices in life. If this aspect of CfE is not working as it should, it would be helpful to revisit it.’
The Government has faced heavy criticism for cutting funding for colleges. Embarrassingly, Miss Eisenstadt added her voice to those who believe falling standards in colleges are damaging young people’s prospects.
Although she said free university tuition is ‘a fantastic advantage for those who go on to higher education’, she pointed out universities have enjoyed ‘greater protection from hard financial times than the further education and the college sector’.
She said: ‘There are no quick fixes for cultural change. One way to make a start would be an advertising campaign that emphasised the opportunities of apprenticeships at all levels.
‘This could help to begin shifting attitudes and making those who choose non-university routes feel more valued.’
Annie Wells, Conservative equalities spokesman, said: ‘Education is such a key route in getting people out of a cycle of poverty. Yet now we see that SNP policies on free tuition are actually hindering that for many.
‘The report also makes it abundantly clear that the gap between rich and poor in Scotland remains far too wide. This is the cost of having an SNP Government which has ignored the needs of those who are worst-off in pursuit of its own constitutional goals.’
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘Naomi’s latest report provides useful challenges to the Scottish and UK Governments to do more to improve the life chances of young people from less advantaged backgrounds and to build a fairer future.’
‘Gap between rich and poor is far too wide’