Abstract
Lord Sainsbury will look at how well the young scientists and engineers being produced by the U.K.’s education and training system match the need the U.K. has for world-class skills to enable it to compete in the new global economy. His talk will cover the supply of graduates in science and technology, looking at both the total number of students and the decline in certain key subjects. His talk will also cover the position at ‘A’ level, and the action which the Government should be taking in order to improve the situation in areas such as the supply of qualified teachers, careers advice and the co-ordination of the many schemes to encourage young people to take up science and technology subjects at school and university. Finally, Lord Sainsbury will consider the area where the U.K. education and training system has been most deficient in the past, the supply of technician skills, and will highlight the key features that a world-class vocational system should have and which are lacking in the U.K.; a well understood system of qualifications which delivers in the marketplace, qualifications based on a mix of knowledge and practical skills, an effective system of funding, and qualified teachers and up-to-date facilities.
