FSB Calls For Rethink Of Secondary Education

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has called for a major rethink of secondary education as the remainder of GCSE results are announced in Northern Ireland.

The FSB said it believed that the continuing upward trend of GCSE results is masking deterioration in the level of basic skills provided to pupils who enter the world of work at 16.

The Federation said that this led to reduced productivity in small firms who then have to spend time at the start of new employees' careers filling in the gaps in their education.

According to the FSB, a quarter of small firms in Northern Ireland have reported facing one or more skills shortages when seeking to fill a job vacancy, while over ten per cent of businesses reported that both basic literacy and numeracy skills were lacking in new recruits. A further ten per cent reported a lack of communication skills as a problem.

Wilfred Mitchell, FSB Policy Chairman said: "The skills that local businesses need from school-leavers are literacy, numeracy, punctuality, communication skills and an ability to be well-presented. This allows them to contribute immediately as they start their new job.

"Sadly, at the moment these skills are lacking in many 16 year-olds and this explains why more firms in Northern Ireland are turning instead to new migrants from other EU nations to fill their job vacancies. This threatens to leave more young people on the scrapheap if action is not taken urgently in the secondary school system.

He added: "The Government’s plan to keep children in school until 18 will only be a success if more vocational training is provided that relates to the needs of employers. However, the basics should be taught before 16 and another two years at school will achieve nothing if this is not achieved."

(CL/SP)