What came out of Ed Miliband’s keynote address?

By: Lindsay Plumpton

Communications Leader

Tuesday 02 October 2012

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This afternoon, Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband spoke at the Labour Party Conference in Manchester to galvanise the party in moving towards the 2015 General Election.

The speech was anecdotal in style, looking at his own past as he delivered a speech which praised his teachers, drew on an example of an unemployed woman sending her CV to 137 employers, and set out a policy direction focusing on the Disraeli spirit of ‘one nation’.

He stated that with “one million young people unemployed, we can’t succeed as a country”, and that we “need an education system that works for all young people”, including the “forgotten 50%” who don’t go to university. He suggested that the answer might lie in the creation of a German-style ‘Technical Baccalaureate’; a gold standard qualification based on a mixture of vocational training and work experience.

Encouragingly, Mr Miliband also expressed his support for apprenticeships and existing vocational training, setting out how a Labour government would ensure more apprentices are taken on in industry.

Of course, this is very positive and builds on the work that’s been done over the last 3 years in improving the perception of vocational education.

However, in proposing a ‘Technical Baccalaureate’ for 18 year olds, is he proposing additional change piled upon overwhelming existing changes? (Consider the volume of change that is currently on-going eg changes to 16-19 and 19+ funding from August this year, the Richard Review of Apprenticeships, and the proposed changes to Key Stage 4 qualifications, not to mention the new Ofqual Common Inspection Framework). Will this support the findings of the Richard Review of Apprenticeships currently underway?

What are your thoughts? Do you think a movement towards a ‘continental style’ of vocational education is the right way to go? Let us know by starting the conversation below!

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Lindsay Plumpton

Communications Leader
96 posts
David Grailey

Chief Executive
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Andrew Gladstone-Heighton

Policy Leader
75 posts
Esme Winch

Managing Director
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Michael Lemin

Policy and Research Manager
25 posts

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