Imperative not to short-change our young people

The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomes today’s report from the Select Committee on tackling intergenerational unfairness. In response, Julian Gravatt, Deputy Chief Executive at the Association of Colleges, said: “Society is changing and young people of today will be working later into their lives than previous generations. At the same, economic uncertainty means that we need to have as many skilled people as possible – colleges will be central to this. “The cuts to the education system have had big implications over the last decade. Many young people are leaving education without the qualifications needed to get on in life. Some of the ones who are gaining degree qualifications are often finding themselves in low-skilled jobs. “We need change and we need it now. To ensure that our young people aren’t short-changed compared to previous generations, we need to invest heavily in our education system. The upcoming Spending and Augar Reviews are good opportunities to address the imbalance by increasing the amount spent on 16 to 19 education, as well as recruiting and retaining specialist staff.”