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CBI COMMENTS ON GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE TO WOLF REVIEW

CBI

12 May 2011

The CBI today commented on the Department for Education’s response to Professor Wolf’s Review of vocational education.
Susan Anderson, CBI Director for Education and Skills, said:
“We welcome the announcement that young people who didn’t get A*-C English and Maths GCSEs will now be supported to achieve this benchmark by 19.
“These subjects are essential for work, but the latest CBI / EDI survey shows that 35% of employers are unhappy with school leavers’ numeracy and 42% with their use of English.
“Maths is particularly important so that the UK can compete and grow in a range of key industries, but currently only 15% of students study this beyond GCSE, well behind competitor nations such as France and Germany.
“All young people should do work experience and we’re concerned that the Government removing the statutory duty on schools could lead to some students missing out on this vital way of developing employability skills.”