TIME TO TELL IT AS IT IS! Educators should listen to the concerns of potential employers by Chris Biddle
I’m never quite sure whether the blanket media coverage of A level and GCSE results at this time of the year is really justified. Pictures of students waving results in a frenzy means very little in the long-term.
Take nothing away from the efforts of students across the land who have worked hard for their qualifications, but all they have really done is arrived at the starting blocks of a long and testing ‘steeplechase’.
Every year at their National Conference, the National Union of Teachers boo and heckle the Minister of Education, irrespective of whatever political party is in power at the time. I like to think these are a vocal minority for whom education operates in isolation, serving narrow agendas - and that the vast majority of teachers are hard-working, conscientious and totally committed to their vocation.
However, it is a growing worry that many school leavers today appear totally ill-equipped to cope with the pressures needed to succeed in the job market.
One business leader said yesterday “Many young people not only lack the basic skills that employers seek, but also hold unrealistic views of the workplace.”
His words were echoed by a Government Minister who said that many school-leavers today were failing to find jobs because they lack ‘grit, social skills and discipline’.
Sir Terry Leahy, former boss of Tesco said “Too many pupils are going through 11 years of schooling, and still leave without a proper grasp of English and Maths because standards are woefully low in too many schools”.
Of course, these are generalisations and do a dis-service to many, many talented youngsters who will make their way in the world, but this chorus of concern from the business world cannot be ignored.
Which is why it is a good thing that pass rates have fallen this year.
Complacency that exam results rise year-on-year (like the housing market of yesteryear) is to be resisted at all costs. The job market is tough, it requires those who are realistic and willing to get stuck in - and exams should reflect this.
The education sector would do well to listen and heed the remarks of business leaders and potential employers. It cannot operate in a bubble where exam results are the be-all and end-all performance indicators.
Time perhaps to re-instate and re-evaluate the role of careers advisors in school who should be able to tell it as it is!
