Raising skills

This Wednesday’s Budget is expected to show that borrowing is down and growth has been unaffected by the EU referendum. This is good, but Britain cannot afford to coast along: bold reforms are needed to control spending, cut taxes and spur the economy.

Happily, Philip Hammond understands the importance of raising skills. At the present, the UK is 16th out of 20 developed nations when it comes to the numbers with technical training. On Wednesday, Mr Hammond is expected to announce a multi-billion pound investment into vocational qualifications, or so-called “T-levels”. Teenagers who choose to take up the training will spend 50 per cent longer learning than they do at the moment, as vocational studies are finally put on an equal footing with academic courses.

Academic work is fantastic, and Britain is rightly proud of its scholarly achievements. But productivity has to be raised and exports need encouragement – an observation that came up repeatedly in the Copeland and Stoke-on-Trent Central by-elections. The Government can do little to help old industries return; recovery in depressed areas will arise from fresh start-ups and new technologies. Already Britain is forging ahead in science, space research, medicine, and other hi-tech industries.

To take advantage of the UK’s greatest resource – its young people – means offering children from all backgrounds the chance to study business, services and the subjects of the future. Anything the Government can do to help is welcome, although ultimately what is needed is a cultural revolution in attitudes. Ambition and hard work have to become values that are universally aspired to.