Duke launches new award
ARTICLE from THE TIMES: 8th July 2013
QUOTE:
The Duke of York has called for greater respect for young people who train to be machinists, builders or technicians, saying that vocational skills deserve a higher status.
Prince Andrew said that the “conventional route” of A levels leading straight to university did not suit everyone and alternatives should be better recognised.
He will visit a technical school in Walsall, West Midlands, today to announce a new award for technical education modelled on the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award started by his father in 1956.
The Duke of York Award will issue bronze, silver and gold certificates for a combination of vocational qualifications, work experience and skills such as problem-solving, teamwork and communications.
Prince Andrew said: “The conventional route is as good as any, but there are other ways of doing it, and not everybody fits into it. There is another side to this. The conventional education may not fit the needs of the workplace.
“In fact, I think there is already a mismatch between what qualifications we are producing and what the workplace needs. So let’s open the opportunities up.
“I don’t want young people to feel that they are being told they are not good enough to do something. At no stage should anything in their education be de-motivational.”
The launch of the Duke of York Award for Technical Education marks a stepping up of Prince Andrew’s work supporting skills, science and enterprise.
He is also to become patron of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, a charity that is opening 45 technical colleges for teenagers aged 14 to 18. Initially the award will be for students at its colleges, but it may be extended after its first two years.
The Duke has made 12 visits to these technical schools, and this year became patron of the Studio Schools Trust, which is creating a similar network of small vocational schools for 14 to 19-year-olds.
Full article for those able to access:
We want builders, not just graduates, says Duke | The Times
I think this is a great idea - it is a return to Tech Colleges which produced engineers, builders, plumbers, mechanics etc - skills that every society requires