29th January 2008

The Government's decision this week to allow high-profile corporations to provide branded educational qualifications has been criticised by Teachers unions and the Green Party, who warn that such business-led qualifications are not the answer to the UK's skills shortage.

Commenting on the training 'certificates' which will be offered by companies such as McDonalds, FlyBe and Network Rail, Stroud District councillor Philip Booth said: "By outsourcing educational needs to the private sector, Labour borrows from the Tory handbook on public sector privatisation. This move risks channelling students into very specific work placements, which could then lock them irreversibly into a trade that may not suit them."

Philip Booth said: "In-house training programmes have provided useful skills training to many, but they haven't strayed into mainstream education. These new Mc-GCSEs and Mc-A Levels are likely to lead to ever greater numbers of McJobs, trapping young people in low paid, insecure employment with low levels of social mobility and high levels of dissatisfaction."

Philip Booth concluded: "The Government must invest more heavily in rich and varied vocational training programmes which provide young people with the intellectual stimulation necessary for personal growth, and to increase their job options for the future - not limit them.”