How to prepare young people for an unknown future

Jonathan Bramsdon, Partnership Director at The Edge Foundation, argues that the UK cannot afford to waste the talent of any young person.

Learning must be interesting and relevant to the future

In a recent speech Sir Michael Rake, Chair of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and Chair of BT, spoke of the economic and social importance of individual talent. He said, "[Talent] underpins both our ability to compete successfully on the global stage and to tackle issues such as climate change, social inclusion and market innovation."

While most would agree that cultivating the talent of young people is essential to ensuring the UK's ability to compete globally for generations to come, finding consensus around what constitutes talent is an ongoing challenge. At Edge, we believe that every young person possesses worthwhile talents and abilities and that the future of this country depends largely on encouraging all routes to success.

Recently, Edge conducted research among a group of 5,000 UK parents to understand their views on their children's education and in particular practical and vocational learning. The findings revealed that 35 percent of UK parents believe vocational learning is for people who don't do well in school, while nearly one in five (17 percent) would be disappointed if their child took up a practical career.

It's research like this which points clearly to an ingrained prejudice against vocational education. Alison Wolf in her book Does Education matter? Myths about Education and Economic Growth highlighted this sentiment when she pointed out, 'vocational education [is] a great idea for other people's children."

At Edge, we are working hard to fight this ingrained prejudice and encourage young people and parents alike to consider the excellent opportunities afforded by practical and vocational education. We want to end perceptions that label non-academic learning as 'second class' and ensure every young person feels valued and recognised for their individual abilities.

In order to achieve this goal, we know that young people must have greater access to learning that is interesting and relevant to their future. One of the best ways to achieve this is by providing direct contact with experts who are finding 'real life' success in practical and vocational careers.

Exposure to employers and the workplace can develop skills young people would never gain in the classroom. At the same time, businesses have the opportunity to contribute directly to a young person's training, cultivating capabilities that are critical to the UK's economic viability.

And many employers are already working towards this goal - whether it's large corporates like Jaguar offering young people the chance to find solutions to real business challenges or smaller businesses like MyJuice, a 2007 Edge Awards winner, bringing enterprise into the classroom and allowing students to run their own mini- juice bars earning business skills and profits for their schools along the way.

The bottom line is the UK cannot afford to waste the talent of any young person. The best chance of economic and social prosperity is ensuring that no single educational or career pursuit is perceived as superior and that young people feel no shame in pursuing one route over another. This is only the beginning but it's an essential step to preparing young people today for a future that is unknown.

Edge is an educational foundation and a ten-year campaign. For more information, please visit www.edge.co.uk