Spalding-area MP Sir John Hayes says practical skills must be given same value as academic ones

In his weekly Hayes in the House column, MP Sir John Hayes states the case for T-Levels...

When John Ruskin said, in 1853, that “education is the leading of human souls to what is best, and making what is best out of them” he made a compelling case for the efficacy of lifelong learning.

For years I have challenged the way our education system discriminates against those with practical inclinations, interests, tastes and talents.

Over recent decades higher learning, reflecting such academic prejudices, allowed the rapid expansion of universities, so feeding the growth of questionable degrees, lacking intellectual or economic value.

The arts and social sciences are particularly vulnerable to the dilution of standards and corruption of content.

Some courses are worse still; so warped that some young people leave university fervently convinced that all white people are racists and that every wrong is the result of western imperialism, so poorly educated that, unsurprisingly, they cannot secure a meaningful job.

Due to the distorting effect of the Blair Government’s dogma about the numbers that should go to university, for too long, too many people have been pushed towards forking out for a degree, when very often it isn’t right for them.

In fact, a tapestry of choices are available to young people as they set out to make their mark in the world. What’s needed, for aptitudes and opportunities to be better matched, is the right
advice and guidance.

Thanks to the mindset that ‘only university is best’, many students have borrowed huge sums of money for degrees that ultimately lead them nowhere, so seeing their talents wasted and their potential go
unachieved.

Now the Government is providing a much-needed boost to training through the roll out of new Technical ‘T’ levels. Yet these will only be a success if they are linked to the higher learning that our nation needs to succeed.

If judged solely by immediate outcomes, employers may be uncertain about the value of skills which T levels impart.

A further challenge is, the lengthy period of work experience T levels, rightly, include may be difficult to attain in rural areas like ours. Entrenching pockets of
disadvantage.

Similarly, creative industries have been identified as a key sector to build sustainable long-term growth. Yet, creative university courses are in danger of being deprioritised simply because it often takes longer for graduates to establish themselves in related industries.

Despite these caveats, the package of measures is welcome. In particular, a welcome commitment to give all learners the chance to retrain, reskill and upskill throughout their lifetime – via the new Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE)– has the potential to make the most difference to the most lives.

I am proud that, as a government minister, I was in a position to change the national conversation about the salience of skills.

Just as then, I remain passionate about improving opportunities for lifelong learning, so it is very good news that the Government is introducing funding reforms to enable Britons to be equipped with the skills they need to enjoy a fulfilling, well-paid career.

The LLE is a loan entitlement equivalent to four years of post-18 education, which can be used flexibly throughout a learner’s life – both for full years of study or individual modules. This exciting step will help to upskill not only the existing workforce, but generations to come.

Perhaps now, more than ever, we can consign to the past the foolish notion that accomplishment is exclusively dependent on academic prowess, by knowing again that, in the words of William Morris, “not on one strand are all life’s jewels strung”.