Jobs for the boys and girls…..

Another day, another set of statistics to pour over. This time it’s the unemployment ones, including the worrying fact that around one million 16-24 years olds are looking for work.

Interestingly enough on the same day that these statistics were issued another article was published which suggests that an increasing number of graduates are shunning the traditional job route and are going it alone by setting up their own businesses. Self employment in general has also reached a record high, a further sign of the changing nature of the employment that has clearly been given impetus by the current economic situation we are in.

However it is the unemployment story which dominates the headlines. No doubt the usual complaints are already being trotted out such as the educational system and how it fails to prepare young people for the world of work, and the unrealistic expectations of young job seekers.

However I rather think that the system is also failing to educate employers as to how new entrants into the workforce need to be treated, and their understandable limitations when they enter the workplace. It seems that too many employers seem to expect new entrants to be the finished article, conveniently forgetting that we all need to start somewhere.

“Yes but we don’t have time to do this” comes the response. Aside from being false economy it would be genuinely scary if today’s fast moving world simply did not allow organisations the time to induct, train and develop their workforce.

It is also said that today’s school leavers and graduates don’t have the right work ethic. This is rubbish. Leaving aside the question as to whether they ever did (go on be honest think back 30 years or so), school students today are assessed and monitored more frequently and intensely that they were in the past.

Grade inflation is another issue. There may be more As and A*s being awarded but it does not reduce the pressure and effort required to get them. A majority of Bs and Cs might have been acceptable years ago. Seemingly they are not any longer. Changes to exam modules are frequent and it is arguable as to whether there is a level playing field between students of the same generation let alone those of different generations.

The increasing desire of young people to start and manage their own businesses is one of the real positives of the current situation. Older people don’t have the monopoly on the skills necessary to be successful business people. Financial and business education is one area that the school system has yet to fully address and it would be good to see this becoming a core element of what passes for the national curriculum.

You may have gathered from the above that I have children which are at the exam stage of their schooling and that there is an element of self interest in all of the above. Perhaps that is the case but I do genuinely believe that we as members of Enterprise Britain should look at what we can do to improve this situation. This is something we are genuinely “all in together”.

Communication – it’s as simple as ABC! Or 1-2-3….

Spelling mistakes apparently cost millions. According to online entrepreneur Charles Duncombe, a single spelling mistake can cut website sales in half. Obviously another reason to bash our poor beleagured education system then.

Ah but not so fast. Our poor grasp of the “3 Rs” could actually be down to the media’s failure to inform us properly.In a recent poll carried out by ComRes for the Institute of Economic Affairs, only 9% of those questioned realise that if you only reduce the deficit, rather than eliminate it, the overall debt of the UK will still increase. Apparently most people did not understand the difference between debt and deficit because the media had failed to tell them.  Well it is blame the media week isn’t it?

Interesting as the two items above undoubtedly are, I think there is a point being missed here. It is not that basic education skills appear to be missing. It is the lack of the understanding necessary to use those skills to communicate properly. Spelling and numeracy are tools to be used to explain things rather than ends in themselves.

For example, in my chosen profession of accountancy, there is a vast difference between those who are able to prepare numbers and those who are able to present them to other people and use them to drive a business forward. Mathematically most businesses are simple. You sell a certain number of items for more than it costs you to make them and run your business. Or if you sell time it is about hours worked times at the rate that somebody is willing to pay. However the ability to relate these numbers to the bigger picture of where a business is going is what makes the difference between a competent accounts person and, say, a finance director.

Good communication skills, both oral and written, are essential in financial management as in other activities. A good understanding of English and Maths will help you be effective, but only if you know how and why you are using them. It’s as easy as ABC. Or 1-2-3……..   

Education! Education? Who is it that really needs Education……?

Last week I attended meetings at two of my local schools. One was a briefing session for sixth formers considering their future options, the other a business breakfast designed to showcase credentials as a business and enterprise college. Both schools created really positive impressions, leaving me to ponder as to why the UK education system and their products get such a bad press.

It is a frequent moan of employers large and small that the quality of new entrants into the workplace is not high. The CBI reports that companies are being forced to stage remedial lessons to deal with new recruits lacking basic employment skills. No lesser businessman than Sir Terry Leahy, who is no slouch when it comes to management, has bemoaned the fact that businesses have to pick up the pieces of "woefully low education standards.

And yet are we being fair to the young people who are being tarred with this very broad brush. As anybody involved in education will tell you, today’s children do not have an easy ride. They are set regular targets based on identified potential. They put up with a level and frequency of testing and assessment that puts workplace performance evaluations to shame. And they do work extremely hard to deliver the grades that are all too often dismissed.

OK if it is not down to the students then it must be down to the schools. Well, not on the evidence of last week’s meetings where stories of engagement with local businesses, and public/private initiatives in the face of some daunting fund raising challenges showed a real determination and resourcefulness to deliver improvements and results.

All right so there is clearly a general attitude problem. Really? Apparent lack of enthusiasm for basic tasks, cynicism, unreal expectations – are these traits only seen in school or college leavers? Indeed are over embellished CVs that don’t cut the mustard any different to so called inflated exam grades? Maybe it is just that the older generation have had years of practise in disguising this….

It is not enough for businesses to moan about the system (and voting clearly won’t change things either). What is needed is direct engagement between businesses and schools, a two way process that goes beyond telling schools what business thinks it wants. I think most schools would welcome this.

This is not to say that all in education is right. There are probably too many universities and too many poor quality and failing schools. There are definitely too many bureaucrats and directives. But on the ground, thousands of schools, students and teachers are working extremely hard to deliver results and rounded human beings. This needs to be remembered too.

Lessons in debt…..

I remember when I got my first credit card. I acquired it when I opened my first bank account as a student. The credit limit was £100, I used it sparingly, and I always paid back the full amount. Of course in those days students received a grant and I was able to deposit mine in a building society account and gain some additional income as the grant balance ran down over the course of a term (those were the days when savers also received a decent rate of interest!).

The upshot of all this was that I was able to emerge debt free from my student days, and save sufficient money to put down a deposit on a flat. A mortgage was therefore my first real experience of debt. However the systems in place at that time regarding multiples of income and percentage of loan to value meant that it was manageable and affordable. I continued to pay back my credit cards on time. Like my parents I believed that debt was to be used sparingly, was only for sensible reasons, and should be comfortably paid back within a reasonable period.  

The reason for the above wave of nostalgia is Lord Browne’s review of higher education funding which was published last week. This raised the prospect of students emerging from higher education with a level of debt that would have been unimaginable to my younger self. On top of this they will probably have an overdraft, credit card borrowings, a car loan and other debts to which they will then be expected to add a mortgage.

The rise of debt fuelled consumption by both individuals and government is blamed by many for the economic struggles that we now face. And yet are we really surprised at this, given that young people are effectively educated to believe that a mountain of debt is a fact of life, and that paying it back is something that will have to wait until resources allow?

There is no easy answer to this. Higher education has reached the stage where it is impossible to fund it without student contribution. Too many students and too many courses are spreading resources far too thinly. And yet I can’t help thinking burdening young people with this level of debt is sending out the wrong message, potentially discouraging able students, and thus storing up even more problems for the future.