Cooking classes? Try encouraging engineers, urges county MP (From Worcester News)
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Cooking classes? Try encouraging engineers, urges county MP
10:34am Monday 18th March 2013 in Worcester By Tom Edwards
Mid-Worcestershire MP Peter Luff
A WORCESTERSHIRE MP has hit out against the dumbing down of the school curriculum - issuing a passionate plea for a Government “change of heart”.
Peter Luff says the country’s shortage of skilled engineers could be hampered by a proposed overhaul of the design and technology modules.
The Department for Education’s forthcoming changes to the lessons mean much of the focus will be on cooking.
Mr Luff, Conservative MP for Mid-Worcestershire, has now secured a vital House of Commons debate in the hope he can get ministers to change tack before September.
The new curriculum is currently out for consultation with schools, businesses and the wider public.
Mr Luff said: “We face a critical engineering skills shortage in this country, and we are competing in a global economic race.
“That’s why it is vital that we inspire our students with the ambition to become the engineers of the future.
“We need to foster a passion for engineering within our schools - to do this it’s crucial that we get the design and technology curriculum right.
“Of course it is important that our children are taught practical skills like cooking and it’s right food should feature in the curriculum – but it has become the prime aim of the draft curriculum and that’s wrong.
“There must instead be a big emphasis on the much wider, creative aspects of design and technology, which are the foundations of the advanced technological world we live in now.”
Last year the Royal Academy of Engineering said the UK needs to increase the number of science, technology and maths graduates by 50 per cent to avoid slipping down the innovation league tables.
In this country 23,000 engineers graduate every year, but India is producing eight times as many and China 20 times as many.
Mr Luff, who is stepping down from parliament in 2015, says addressing the shortage of engineers will be the main aim of his final two years as an MP.
The debate, which will take place on Wednesday, will be attended by a minister from the Department for Education.
The Government has pledged to listen to the feedback it gets during the consultations.
Comments(13)
Bravo, San Juan
says...
8:23pm Mon 18 Mar 13
OrdinaryMan
says...
10:33pm Mon 18 Mar 13
RobertR wrote:Could not agree more with most of that. Absolutely bob on.
Well blow me down!. An MP talking sense?. Mrs. Thatcher said our future lay with service industries and The City.
Well, look where that's got us. The old smoke and mirrors trick conning everyone has been rumbled.
Britain gained it's wealth by trade, exporting it's goods all round the world.
Why did we stop?. The country needs people that can do things. There's only a finite ammount of Psycology students the country needs and guys, you'll never get a job
However... My history knowledge would not get on to Mastermind, but I thought Britain (ok, England) initially gained its wealth and status via the sword? War / invasion / occupancy of other lands.
Happy to be corrected, and will take it back if am wrong.
i-cycle
says...
8:30am Tue 19 Mar 13
Also that schools have a vital part in preparing more of the next generation to consider and prepare for engineering as a career.
However with the increase in obesity and more living on their own surely its just as important that the next generation is taught how to cook and eat well.
I'd also add to this the importance of encouraging them to lead more active lifestyles. The latest NICE guidance suggests the majority of short journeys should be undertake on foot or by bicycle if we are to tackle growing health problems.
Its great the County has secured grant funding to offer Bikeability training for all school children but surely its just as important that the County uses some of its new public health budgets to make sure this doesn't stop at the school gates.
This would be helped tremendously if Highways could find the commitment to providing more traffic calmed streets.
Maybe then more parents of the majority of school children who say they'd like to walk or cycle to school would feel able to let them.
Better this than clogging up our streets and creating a sense of car dependency on the school run.
The national Government and particularly Boris Johnson has started to wake up to these realities and opportunities... meanwhile our local County councillors allocate just 45p per person from their own budgets for cycle related initiatives and not much more for keeping our footpaths and bridleways open.
Perhaps time to reflect on changing priorities post the May elections?
brooksider
says...
8:42am Tue 19 Mar 13
The UK actually produces more engineering Graduates per head of the population than both India and China.
i-cycle
says...
9:05am Tue 19 Mar 13
According to the World Bank the population of the three countries in 2011 was:
UK 62,641,000
India 1,241,491,960
China 1,344,130,000
On that basis India should have 19.8 and China should have 21.5 times as many engineering graduates.
If these are the important stats (i.e. graduates rather than apprentices) then the UK seems to be doing OK.
Perhaps Peter Luff needs to be pushing for more Maths in the curriculum as well!
Landy44
says...
9:06am Tue 19 Mar 13
He's only gone part of the way of course, it's not just engineers we need, there are many other productive professions that need to be encouraged in this country. Unfortunately over the years that has been a rush to some of the less productive but well rewarded professions (Law, the bloated public sector, etc) and not enough emphasis put on production!!!
RobertR
says...
9:16am Tue 19 Mar 13
China now being a prime example of who to do it.
I wouldn't say it was the schools job to teach cookery. Being a parent should carry some responsibilty towards your childs learning life skills. but, children should understand basic nutrition and the effect of a good diet.
RobertR
says...
9:22am Tue 19 Mar 13
£200 an hour. Perhaps the OFT should investigate?. Oops! aren't they all lawyers?.
Respectable
says...
11:17am Tue 19 Mar 13
I worked for Rover Group before the collapse and what the company needed was customers NOT handouts and bail outs.
I guess you could go back further to the British Motorcycle industry as well as another example of what happens when you don't buy your own countries product.
Interestingly when the Millau Bridge was built in the south of France, despite it being a UK Designer the steel and labour came from the French owned Eiffel company. When we built Wembley we used an Australian contractor I believe.
i-cycle
says...
12:39pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Particularly for construction related projects that's where www.finditinworceste
rshire.com can help.
The county hasn't developed it as far as Sandwell yet, but by getting contractors to make their sub contract and employment and training opportunities 'transparent locally' it significantly increases the chances of work staying in the local area let alone in the UK.
Its already well know that construction can have a major impact on the local and UK economy as typically around half of construction costs is labour. Its therefore a very effective way of creating jobs. Most of these opportunities will be taken up by local residents anyway, but if aligned to local training and recruitment programmes and associated with local labour contract clauses the local employment impact can be further increased.
That's then where the local economic multiplier kicks in. The more local labour and businesses you have in the subcontract chain the more likely they are to spend their wages (e.g. in local shops) and buy in services locally.
This ensures that the construction £ has a much bigger impact on the local economy. It sounds impossible but Cambridge Econometrics estimate that the local economic multiplier for housing projects can be as high as £1.86 in the £1. Imaging trying to get a 186% return on your savings at the bank.
Party politics aside, there is a very strong case for the Government and Local Authorities investing more in construction related projects as long as they provide what's really needed (e.g. housing) and can improve the conditions for further local economic growth. More of any investment has a local economic impact which in turns helps stimulate more local economic activity. Its why and how Germany gfot to where it is now after WW2. German companies always try to buy local first and their regional structure and banks means there is a vested interest for the regional banks to invest in local businesses and especially the manufacturing businesses that generate the real wealth.
dulon
says...
10:26am Wed 20 Mar 13
Thatcher was deceived by the thought that service industries would give us a sustainable economy , but , I dont however think that she was entirely to blame when you look at industrial relations and management inadequacy from the 70s 80s . She was desperate for an alternative .
The trouble that we have now when trying to reassert our ability to innovate
and invent . Is that we are no better equipped than our far eastern opposition , but , we have outrageous overheads around our neck such as free NHS social care and minimum wage . Our average consumer does not think of the social consequences of buying the cheapest , that is why we all shop in supermarkets and let the old traders go to the wall . There is a chain in place that does not stop at teaching welding or cooking . Until we are socially aware of our own decisions we will get more out of town shopping , decimation of town centres and manufacturing continuing to grow in low cost labour areas.
handsp1
says...
10:10am Fri 22 Mar 13
OrdinaryMan wrote:I suppose if we go back you can argue that England gained its revenues from taxes on wool and cloth manufacturing (especially around Worcester) so that would be trade.
RobertR wrote:Could not agree more with most of that. Absolutely bob on.
Well blow me down!. An MP talking sense?. Mrs. Thatcher said our future lay with service industries and The City.
Well, look where that's got us. The old smoke and mirrors trick conning everyone has been rumbled.
Britain gained it's wealth by trade, exporting it's goods all round the world.
Why did we stop?. The country needs people that can do things. There's only a finite ammount of Psycology students the country needs and guys, you'll never get a job
However... My history knowledge would not get on to Mastermind, but I thought Britain (ok, England) initially gained its wealth and status via the sword? War / invasion / occupancy of other lands.
Happy to be corrected, and will take it back if am wrong.
Even kings had to ask for their war funds from Parliament after the Magna Carta.
RobertR says...
6:59pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Well, look where that's got us. The old smoke and mirrors trick conning everyone has been rumbled.
Britain gained it's wealth by trade, exporting it's goods all round the world.
Why did we stop?. The country needs people that can do things. There's only a finite ammount of Psycology students the country needs and guys, you'll never get a job