Skills now and in the future

I recently listened with great interest to a discussion about written skills and how children are being taught in schools. Apparently, formal business letter writing is no longer core to the curriculum and more 'social writing' is accepted. This was then confounded by the statement of the Prime Minister declaring that grammar and spelling would be brought back into the curriculum. I hadn't realised it had gone ... but it's 30 years since I was in that type of school lesson!

I then came across an article about a petition calling for financial education to be compulsory in schools. Yes the petition has got some 'celebrity' backers and support from MPs and debt charities, but again, I hadn't realised it (financial education) was no longer in the school curriculum!

Because of the nature of my work, I am often involved in discussions about the skills of the workforce. In a nutshell, the discussions and needs analyses often identify that it is the application of skills in the workplace that are what employers want rather than simply being able to do a specific skill. Being numerate and literate are important but the application of these skills is what businesses want. So is the call for a 'back to basics' curriculum going to make a difference in the future? I'm not sure, it should do, but in the current market, businesses need these skills now.

Education plays a huge part in shaping the future workforce and creating new business. If the fundamental skills are not being taught within schools, as is being suggested, we may have a generation to come that cannot fulfil the nation's potential. Furthermore, what do we do now? Answers on a very large postcard!