Report to the People
The Skills That Pay the Bills
Although I am now entering the autumn of my youth, I like to think I can still relate to young people. But the sad reality is that I am only kidding myself. Custom ring tones and Hear'Say are as alien to me as flared trousers and the Rolling Stones were to my father.
This ignorance, alas, was recently on display when I was asked if I had ever heard of "Positive K." Not, as I thought, some sort of breakfast cereal, but a US hip-hop artist who has a record entitled "The Skills That Pay the Bills."
This must be the first time in history that Scottish Executive policy is endorsed in the title of a rap record. It is exactly what Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Minister, Wendy Alexander, meant last week when she said, "if Scotland is to be a prosperous, high earning nation, learning must be at its heart."
Of course, we all know learning pays: 9 in 10 university graduates and 8 in 10 college graduates are in work. This compares to 7 in 10 of those with standard grades and 5 in 10 for those with nothing. And the more skills you have, the better paid, more secure and more rewarding your job becomes.
It is easy for me, as someone who benefited from second chance learning, to sing its praises in a newspaper. But that is not enough. We need to move from convincing people of education's value to helping them take the first step.
And for many it's a big step. The pressure, from family and friends, to leave school and get a steady job can be great. Or there may simply be no tradition of continuing education in the family
But these attitudes are changing. Already the number of people from Greenock & Inverclyde at college - for many a vital stepping stone to university - is 10.8% above the national average.
We must, however, go further.
We are looking at extending a pilot scheme which gives 16 and 17 year-old pupils up to £40 a week, plus other bonuses, to stay on at school or go to college. To boost enrolments at colleges by 10% to 450,000, the Parliament is increasing annual spending on them by an extra £150 million.
Combined with the new system of student finance, these measures will help more disadvantaged people into further education.
Continuing in education is no easy option. But it does pay off. If you've got those bills, you need those skills.
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