Does vocational training dampen the ambitions of schoolchildren? According to a representative from the National Union of Teachers (NUT) it does.
A debate about the value of non-academic teaching has been sparked by an innovative training initiative set up by a Sunderland secondary school and local employer EDF Energy.
According to a report in the Guardian, the “Train 4 Life” training scheme, which gives pupils a chance to learn IT and communication skills in a mock call centre at school, has proved to be popular with teenagers.
The idea, which could help with employment prospects, sprang originally from requests made by the schoolchildren, many of whom are from estates with high levels of deprivation and unemployment.
The arrangement fits the model prescribed by government leaders, who urge employers to team up with learning providers and make training more relevant to business. But the secretary of the NUT in Sunderland, Howard Brown, is reported to be unhappy about the set-up, saying it is a step too far.
“It seems that this is going back to the old days when we told children round here that they had to go straight down the mines when they left. Now the mines have gone and we are saying they have to go and work in a call centre. We have an obligation to give them more than that,” he said.
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