MATTHEW BURGESS, PRINCIPAL AT GLOUCESTERSHIRE COLLEGE ON THE SKILLS WHITE PAPER

“I think there are some really good things in the Skills White Paper, but I have reservations too. I welcome the government recognising the core role that FE colleges play in helping increase social mobility as well as skills. For too long the UK has put too much emphasis on developing academic skills at the expense of core skills. The academic route isn’t for everyone.

“A huge part of the paper is about developing higher technical skills –level 4 (that’s university and above) in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), computing and construction. Currently we have just four per cent of our population achieving level 4 thanks to artificial targets of 50 per cent of young people going to university.

“I remember the successful HNCs and HNDs that so many of our college students studied for, but then the government decided that young people should pay for them. My big concern is that the government thinks that offering loans rather than subsidising these hugely worthwhile technical qualifications is the answer, but I don’t think so. At the age of 18 students are ambivalent about the debt. However, once they are 25-30 they are less likely to want to take on debt, and employers don’t want to invest in training someone who then goes on to work for someone else.

“We were also puzzled when we saw that the government wants chambers of commerce to be involved. Chambers across the UK have very different levels of capability and focus. We wondered whether the Education Secretary was likening the UK Chambers of Commerce with those of Germany, but they are very different.

Our Local Economic Partnerships have all been working on skills plans but encouraging employers to engage has always been difficult so colleges can take a much more proactive role in that. In Gloucestershire, we are lucky to have a strong and supportive business community.

“There are three elements to my job. Gloucestershire College has an important role to play in social mobility, supporting those from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are an integral part of the local business community and we are a large business in our own right. All these are things that we want to share and much of the White Paper seems to recognise these ambitions. I look forward to understanding how the government plans the practical implementation of its ideas.”

Chambers of Commerce were first established in France in 1599 (in the time of Napoleon) to represent the voice of business. English chambers developed differently to France and Germany, responding to local conditions.

In other countries, the private sector and government co-invested in these institutions over a long period of time. The UK chose a more laid back approach. As a result, continental businesses seem to be at an advantage in having a simpler and better understood route to business support.