HC Deb 19 April 1977 vol 930 cc17-9
14. Mr. Forman

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science what proposals her Department is intending to put forward with a view to seeing that the education system takes full account of the needs of British industry.

Mr. Oakes

My right hon. Friend intends to publish a consultative document containing her conclusions and proposals in the light of the regional conferences and other recent consultations about education in the schools. In the field of higher and further education she is in touch with local education authorities, the University Grants Committee, the Council for National Academic Awards and other bodies with a view to ensuring that young people are given the best possible preparation for industrial careers.

Mr. Forman

Notwithstanding the recent evidence of a partial swing back towards engineering and the applied sciences, at least at university level, is the Minister satisfied that his Department is doing everything necessary at all levels in the education system to ensure that industrialists and employers are getting the quality of young people that they are looking for?

Mr. Oakes

Yes, Sir, we are doing everything possible.

Mrs. Bain

Is the Minister satisfied that British industry is taking advantage of opportunities that exist already in the education system, particularly in the context of new industries and the need for research and development? Will he give particular attention to the possibility of experimentation and research and development in the offshore oil industry as it exists in Scotland leading to a situation in which the country could be a dollar earner when the offshore oil industry moves into mid-ocean?

Mr. Oakes

I think that industry is increasingly aware of using the opportunities of the education system. I agree with the hon. Lady that there needs to be more liaison, both in England and in Scotland, between schools, universities and industry, for the very reason that she has given.

Mr. Spearing

My hon. Friend mentioned further and higher education. Does he agree that one of the greatest needs is for basic manipulative skills in secondary schools? Will his document cover the shortages that exist among teachers in these sectors? Does he agree that it may be possible for some mature entry teachers to teach pupils skills, now in short supply, which are becoming of increasing importance?

Mr. Oakes

My right hon. Friend announced recently the training and retraining provision, particularly for teachers of science, mathematics and crafts, where there is a shortage of teachers.

We are looking at the question of basic skills in schools from the point of view not only of higher and further education but of schools as well, trying to increase liaison between individual firms and individual schools. For example, the Schools Council, in co-operation with the TUC and the CBI, is mounting a project to provide material for schools and colleges dealing with the structure of industry and the complexities of industrial society.