Stockport Express article

When I was at school,  teachers would say: “stay on and take A-Levels or you’ll end up in a dead end job.”
Then, in the terrible mass unemployment of the ‘Eighties, it became: “Stay on and do well, or you’ll get no job at all.”
The days of endless dole queues are over, thank goodness, and thanks to the performance of the economy since 1997 there are more jobs than ever before. But there is a new challenge awaiting our 16, 17 and 18-year-olds.

That challenge is globilisation. And what it means for teenagers is that, yes, there will be well-paid skilled jobs available for them but not the unskilled jobs in the factories of old.
Increasingly, the kinds of jobs that young people could walk into at one time are going abroad.  Call a customer service centre line, chances are the phone will be answered by an assistant in another country altogether. The cheap clothes we can buy for our children are made abroad by people on wages far lower than our young people would wish to earn.
This is why I think it is right that the Government is planning to put up the age at which young people in England can finish their education. This wouldn’t mean they’d have to stay at school, but they would need to do some sort of training or learning until they turn 18.

Already in Stockport 75 per cent of our 16 to 18 year olds are studying or training – 63 per cent in full time education; 10 per cent in work based learning and 3 per cent in part-time education. This is well in line with the national average. Under the new proposals the other 25 per cent of our young people will get the chance to increase their skills and life chances.
The facts are clear to see - if you continue in education or training for longer you earn more and have more job opportunities. This is not about forcing young people  to stay in the classroom. Young people will be able to choose to stay on full or part time in schools, colleges, work-based learning or in accredited training with an employer.
Apprenticeships will be significantly expanded so that they are available to any qualified young person who wants one.

So, the difficult challenges of globalisation are being confronted head on. Our 18-year-olds will go out into the world with qualifications, high quality skills or places in training schemes and college – equipped to take on the best in the world.
They are so lucky. With the right help, the future has never been brighter