‘The competition was fierce’, ‘we had an extraordinarily high-number of applicants’, ‘the standard was exceptional’. If you’re a brave soul who’s fighting tooth and nail for a decent job out there and struggling to make any impact, these words will sound all too familiar. The world in which we now live is one based on global markets and economic inter-dependence. It is driven and led by the knowledge economy, where skills and training are the currency for success. Britain is well placed in this regard. We have a first rate education system, diverse and high-tech training programmes, and elite academic institutions that collectively put us at the pinnacle of the knowledge based world economy.
But with rising global powers of China and India in hot pursuit, and the developing world’s tiger economies chasing us as fast as Jenson Button is the Formula One title, we have some serious competition to contend with. Britain’s success as a leading knowledge based economy depends on our continuous drive for higher standards across all boards. We must keep pushing ourselves; champions never relent in their quest for perfection. And Britain can be no different.
What will keep us at the top is our capacity to continuously deliver a better skilled and trained labour force. And no doubt our weakest area is post-university and adult training. Don’t get me wrong, Labour have introduced some good measures, like the train to gain work scheme and committing extra funding for distance learning. But the skills ‘set’ of post-education adults are more stagnant and idle than any other group. A revolution in skills learning and training is necessary, and long overdue. Taking into account the dire economic climate we are currently facing, and the day to day financial pressures ordinary people face, a cost effective and flexible solution will be required.
That is why I propose the ‘Social-Exchange Forum’, a government sponsored skills sharing website. People would log on to the forum and create a simple self-profile, similar to that on facebook. On this profile, they would list their personal skills and abilities and any relevant qualifications they may possess. Once they have done this, their skills profile will be logged onto the forum. This will then enable them to browse other skills profiles and search for any particular areas they may like to acquire new skills in. Once they have identified certain profiles that interest them, an offer to exchange skills training or teaching may be made with them. Only adults will be allowed to register. The purpose of this forum is to facilitate skills sharing between different peoples eager to learn new things.
This policy has several distinct advantages. Firstly, it utilises the ever growing internet-based networking of society. People in Britain are so inter-connected with each other politically, economically, and socially. It is only logical to extend this culture to skills sharing and exchanging. Secondly, this scheme is highly cost-effective not just for the user, but for the government too. The whole objective is to allow people to gain new skills and knowledge without spending vast sums of money. The financial burdens of undertaking any new training is one of the biggest inhibiting factors for people. The skills sharing forum will ensure that is not an issue.
The policy does not come without difficulties, i.e. what if one wants to learn new skills but feels they have little to offer? That will be a likely critique for many but one that can be overcome by creating added ‘searching’ profiles where the gaining of new skills can still happen but in exchange of fees instead. Though this will go against the principle of the scheme, any fees that are agreed will be far lower than professional levels, and will maximise the accessibly of the forum to as many in society. All the scheme requires is one primary resource: people with skills and talent. Britain has that in abundance. You may have a long-held ambition to improve your mathematic ability, learn a martial art, develop management and leadership skills, or simply acquire a new language. Whatever it is, this people’s forum can make that happen while ensuring Britain remains at the forefront of the knowledge based world economy.