Unite calls for education to be at the heart of the recovery
29 September 2010
In the education and skills debate at Labour's annual conference
today (29 September), Unite called on the Labour party to put
education and skills at the heart of its strategy for securing the
recovery.
Unite, assistant general secretary, Tony Burke, said: “At the
heart of any economic recovery is a programme of growth through
investment not cuts. To provide sustainable manufacturing jobs and
to help with economic recovery, we need workers with the right
skills.
“In the UK this means a greater concentration on the STEM (Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills that will enable UK
manufacturing to lead in innovation, research and development in
traditional and modern industries, engineering, electronics,
chemicals printing, automotives, aerospace and IT.
“The Tory policy to cut the science budget is exactly the wrong
thing to do as industry is being asked to respond to the challenges
of supporting a low carbon economy. Undermining our science and
skills base, will kill off the manufacturing base in the UK in the
future. It is not only at graduate level that skills need to be
addressed. We need education and training programmes which deliver
technically competent workers who can deliver the growth that is
needed to secure economic recovery.
“The UK needs more apprenticeships for the young and not so
young. We need our schools to promote apprenticeships in
manufacturing, providing good jobs for our young people for the
future. Education and skills has to be at the heart of the
recovery. Let’s make sure that Labour puts this at the heart of its
policy going forward.”
ENDS
For more information please contact: Ciaran Naidoo, Unite press
office on: 07768 931 315
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