Tuesday, December 05, 2006

Plugging the UK skills gap?

Unsurprisingly, 400 further education institutions support a plan to extend education and training for everyone up to the age of 18 despite 41% of sixteen year olds not even able to obtain five good GCSEs!

Without increased skills, we would condemn ourselves to a lingering decline in competitiveness, diminishing economic growth and a bleaker future for all. The case for action is compelling and urgent. - Lord Leitch.

Does the UK need to be concerned with a growing skills gap when immigration from 10 new EU countries since 2004 has meant [an] influx of a skilled, low-cost workforce!?!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I find it literally incredible how short-sighted middle-class people are over this situation. They are so busy gloating over the fact that the "chavs" are being shat on in favour of cheap immigrant labour that they don't seem to care how they are expected to live. Well, they will have to live on welfare. And who will pay for that pray? You and your children, that's who! The immigrants aren't interested in paying high taxes to fund a large body of unemployed. If they are asked to do so they will either indulge in tax-avoidance or go to a low-tax economy like Ireland.

Like most skilled working-class people I have left England for good. I literally can't afford to stay. I tried coming back to England a couple of years ago, during which time my wages plummeted, I was retrenched to be replaced with the cheap immigrants; housing, council tax and other costs were too great to be borne. Worst of all was the sneering and gloating about "chavs". The snobbishness in this country is now back to the levels demonstrated by the Thatcherites in the '80's. Fortunately my skills are welcomed abroad and I can live the good life.

Time to grow up people, before your kids start to pay the price. And yes, that price includes social unrest, not just taxes.