CBI CHIEF URGES GOVERNMENT TO LAUNCH NEW-YEAR ASSAULT ON EDUCATION FAILINGS
New figures show two million young people have left school with inadequate basic skills since 1997
The head of the CBI will today (Monday) call for a new-year assault on the failings of the education system, which are leaving thousands of people "unemployable".
In his 2005 New Year message, Digby Jones says too many youngsters face exclusion from work because they cannot read, write or add up properly.
Unveiling statistics on the extent of the problem, the CBI leader says that since 1997 two million pupils have failed to achieve GCSE grade C or above in English and Maths.
He says the CBI does not expect a 100 per cent pass rate, but he argues that in these core topics the education system is letting down one in four young people.
He estimates that to address the basic skills problem schools must get about 130,000 additional pupils to pass English and maths every year.
The move comes as new Education Secretary Ruth Kelly prepares a critical education white paper for publication early in the new year. This will include the official response to the Tomlinson report, which called for a major shake up of the UK exam system.
The Tomlinson proposals prompted CBI warnings that exam reform could pull away resources and divert attention from tackling poor basic skills, which the business community regards as the education system's greatest failing.
Digby Jones wants the white paper to include an ambitious new target for English and maths with 70 per cent of youngsters getting A* to C in both topics by 2007. Since 1997 the average pass rate for both has been 46 per cent, 24 percentage points short.
This indicates that each year the education system lets down almost one in four pupils on basic skills. The figures imply that annually an additional 130,000 pupils must pass both topics for schools to claim acceptable performance.
Digby Jones says: "High skill levels are the greatest protection that any of us can have from the challenges of globalisation.
"That's why it's so worrying that so many youngsters are being condemned to a low-skilled poorly-paid future. My fear is that many who cannot read, write or add up properly will find themselves unemployable - and the problem is only going to worsen.
"This is a scandal, but it is not a new scandal. It's not a problem that has been created by this government. Indeed, ministers have done a lot to chip away at the problem since 1997. But let's be honest, no political party has cracked this one."
The CBI leader is to make basic skills a key lobbying theme in the run up to the next general election. He wants all political party manifestos to include policies designed to improve literacy and numeracy.
He says: "There is no party that can claim to be the true champion of the low skilled. And I think that 2005 should be the year for that to change.
"Business is not interested in the blame game or excuses. What we want is action with cross party support. Let's get together as a nation, put the illiterate and innumerate at the top of the agenda, and produce tangible results."
Ahead of the government's white paper, the CBI will publish a basic skills action plan, giving full details on the 70 per cent target for English and maths.
The education system has fallen well short of this target for the past seven years. In 1997-1998, 43 per cent of school leavers achieved a grade C in maths and English. By
2003-2004, the figure had risen but only to 47 per cent.
The CBI plan will also call for a new literacy and numeracy strategy for 14 to 16 year olds - the government has done this at primary level with some success. The strategy should tell teachers what to teach and how best to go about it.
The CBI will say that ministers should introduce a new qualification in basic skills, as suggested in the Tomlinson report. The employers' body says relevant teachers should be trained for this course by 2006 with students first tested in 2008.
The CBI's basic skills campaign comes after CBI surveys picked up growing employer dissatisfaction with school leavers. Earlier this year a CBI-Pertemps employment trends survey showed a third of companies provide remedial training to young people.
Forty seven per cent of firms said they were dissatisfied with school leavers' basic skills. Seventy two per cent of firms criticised their business awareness, 62 per cent their self-management and 41 per cent their attitude to work.
But the CBI has made clear that it remains unconvinced on whether the Tomlinson report proposals - published last October - would address business concerns.
Digby Jones says: "Business is yet to be convinced that reforming the exam system is the best way to improve basic skills. It wants assurances that reform will change what young people achieve, not just what qualifications are called.
"The school system must produce people ready for the world of work in the context of a fiercely competitive globalised 21st century economy. That means the right attitude, an appetite for hard work, and at least being able to read, write and count.
"Our goal is higher standards, not new structures."
23 December, 2004
Notes to Editors:
Since 1997 two million pupils have failed to achieve GCSE grade C in English and maths.This figure is the cumulative total of the past seven years. The seven individual numbers added together are accurate for each academic year and do not include the small minority of pupils that retake GCSEs. The data comes from National Statistics/DfES. The overall total is 2,082,400 pupils who did not achieve maths and English over the past seven years.
The CBI is the UK's leading business organisation, speaking for some 240,000 businesses that together employ around a third of the private sector workforce.
Member companies, which decide all policy positions, include:
- 80 of the FTSE 100
- some 200,000 small and medium-size firms
- more than 20,000 manufacturers
- over 150 sectoral associations.
No other UK organisation represents as many major employers, small and medium-size firms or companies in the manufacturing or service sectors.
The CBI's broad-based membership gives it unrivalled influence with the UK government. The organisation is also the UK's official business representative in the European Union, which generates more than 50 per cent of regulation affecting British firms.
With offices across the UK as well as in London, Brussels and Washington, the CBI coordinates British business representation around the world.
Media Contact:
CBI Press Office: 020 7395 8239. Out of hours pager: 07623 977854.
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