Call for firms to raise game
A GROUNDBREAKING Gazette-backed Teesside conference bringing employers and teachers together in the wake of one of the biggest shake-ups in the education system was told a cultural change needed to take place between business and education if the new 14-19 diploma was to become the success it deserved to be.
Chris Tweedale, who heads up Secretary of State Ed Balls’ revolution in the classroom, said the qualification was market driven and its success would depend entirely on business buy-in.
“We tried to get complete synergy between what employers tell us they want from young people leaving school,” he said.
But he acknowledged that many teachers, let alone bosses, had yet to fully understand how the diploma worked. While outside the conference hall many in education and business fear it will end up as a sink for low achievers.
Addressing an audience of nearly 100, brought together by the Gazette’s Education Steering Group - a unique round-table of teachers, businesses and training providers - Mr Tweedale said 74% of businesses and teachers said they benefited from a closer working relationship, but the challenge was in understanding each other’s needs and ways of working.
He said there was clear examples of good practice and an army of business ambassadors, led by the former chairman of Toyota, now being deployed to spread the message backed by a national newspaper advertising campaign.
Top table speaker Jon Bolton, MD of Corus’ Teesside Cast Products, which already has a successful partnership with Hall Garth School, urged business to get behind teachers. “Whatever your business, you basically want to be at the top of your game. By working with teachers as a team I strongly believe you can raise that game,” he said.
For a full report, see next week’s nebusiness supplement.
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