Vocational Schools Britain Bria McDaniel February 20, 2015

Vocational Schools Britain

Summary

Ed Miliband, the leader of the Labour party in Britain, is proposing a plan to boost the middle class by providing more apprenticeship programs/vocational schools for the youth and those in working to middle class. The party says that if they are re-elected, their plan will give 3 million people an apprenticeship. Companies involved with providing the apprenticeship will be private companies who are bidding for public sector contracts. These companies will be expected to cover the cost of their apprentices. Public sector contracts are contracts or deals controlled by the government that are used to address national concerns that often employee private companies. Some say that it would not be a good idea to take away government funding for these apprenticeships and leave it in the hands of the private companies. If a company adopted this plan, they would receive tax breaks. This might help mediate the cost of paying for apprenticeships. An example of this would be Microsoft providing computer programs to public schools. Proper apprenticeships would require a person to receive a higher level of qualifications while a plan of inclusive prosperity which is what Miliband is pushing for would only require a person to have had good grades after they have turned 18.

Analysis

So far, this sounds like a good way to stimulate job growth in the lower and middle class. These apprenticeships are the same thing as the U.S. vocational schools. This will help the economy by providing a direct connection between education and jobs. In the U.S. many people graduate with a four year degree and still have not been trained to do a job or in a career and are sent out to find jobs for work experience, that require work experience. In couraging apprenticeships so that people can find a good job without incurring a large amount of debt from a 4 year college seems to be the right way to go. A concern that I would have is, are there enough companies that have public sector contracts, seeking employees from Britain. Many companies might prefer selling to Britain's public sector to get more money, but employ people in countries with less developed economies to reduce cost.  I believe that the tax breaks will draw companies in to seeking public sector contracts if the tax breaks are worth their while.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-31483886