Jaguar Land Rover and British Airways back new colleges

Jaguar, Land Rover and British Airways are among major businesses backing 15 new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) approved by the government. See Article

I think these new colleges are a good idea in the current climate.

What hasn’t been said is that these are really twenty-first century apprenticeships; an excellent idea.

However, the need for such Colleges is also a reflection of the deterioration of our examination system as a whole.

There was a time when students would naturally rise to the top through examination success and University education.

Many were sponsored through University – a University system their future employers trusted.

Business approval of these UTCs is a clear sign that companies would much prefer to have input into the training of future employees from an early stage rather than relying on traditional schooling.

They will at least know the calibre of candidate they are getting, something you can no longer do by looking at top GCSE and A Level marks.

June 7th, 2012