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That’s skill, that is! I remember kids saying that all the time at school. Quite often they were in awe of someone’s prowess (quite often their own) with a hacky sack or skipping rope. But it was said of all sorts of things - a new haircut, art homework, the way a friend had sewn old CND badges on to their new shoes. Whatever that "skill" happened to be, it was admired; the time, effort and, in some cases, considerable sums spent on getting it right appealed and were approved. So where did it all go wrong? At what point, and why, did I start hiding from friends that I stayed after school for extra woodwork classes? And why do so many adults feel too ashamed or scared to take up training in or outside of work? There’s no doubt in this supplement that we would all be better off if we overcame such barriers: more skill, more productivity, better economy, bigger pay. But the government hasn’t helped inspire us to rise to the challenge. It has been so preoccupied with university education - aiming to make it available to as many as possible - that it has managed to devalue both universities and their (equally if not more useful) alternatives. This has done nothing to advance either the economy or equality, leaving many people feeling it’s university or nothing. What we urgently need is due respect for the type of education that satisfies both students and businesses more than a degree in medieval English (though, I admit, someone has to do it). Maybe, just maybe, businesses might not protest so much about paying more tax for education that served them better, which might just mean we wouldn’t need to charge people to learn, which might just mean that more people would do so. Now that would be skill.
Emily Mann

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