Early effort needed

Training must start early, perhaps at the kindergarten stage, delegates were told – and governments and companies need to work together to assure productivity in the industries of tomorrow.

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Delegate interaction with the panel

Skills needed

“We are still only one third of the way back to recovering from the GDP fall in September 2008. One of the battle cries from industry is that we cannot find enough skilled people to help drive the upturn. Training is not an automatic priority for government funding but the amount of money needed is relatively small. One big issue is that we have fewer larger companies than the US, Germany and France.”

Dr. Edward Krubasik, Member of the Supervisory Board, Vallourec; Former Member of the Management Board, Siemens

Tapping reserves

“At Siemens and in German industry in general, every three or four years, companies, the trade unions and the Government agree an education pact. You have to start the training effort early, in kindergarten; 10 years of telling people that they will get better jobs if they are technicians will be worthwhile. You need to tap the reservoirs of immigration, too – Germany is de facto an immigration country.”

Lost generation

“Unless we improve training, we will produce a lost generation of young people. We’re unduly dependent on suppliers to build aircraft carriers, tanks and nuclear submarines. The standard of workmanship is absolutely crucial. You can’t build a nuclear submarine using instructions on the back of a fag packet with someone who’s just come off the dole.”

Dr. Hubert Ertl, Lecturer in High Education, University of Oxford

Lower complexity

"We need to simplify the complexity of training schemes in the UK. Germany has 340 state-recognised training occupations. This is a finite number and it contributes greatly to acceptance. In the UK we have had 2,000 or 3,000 types of qualification. Not much has changed over the years. Within the overall infrastructure of higher education, we should be able to make a difference in the vocational field."