August is always an odd month for politics. With an absence of a parliamentary narrative, other stories dominate. Indeed, this year, with a new prime minister, and a comical parliamentary by-election where Reform leader Nigel Farage faces up to stiff competition from Count Binface, we are not short of silly-season news.
But there have been some interesting announcements on education. As we head into GCSE and A-Level results season, many are focusing on this area, so education news is well received.
Last week, recently appointed education secretary Lucy Powell announced a desire to introduce technical pathways for students. The new changes to the curriculum would allow 14-year-olds to choose between academic or technical subjects, thus allowing them to focus on local employment opportunities from GCSEs onwards.
Most people think this is probably a good idea. I agree. When I was 14, I wanted to be an engineer. I did maths and physics up to A-level, but also did Engineering Drawing, and Electronics for the GCSE equivalents. I messed up my A-levels, so went into investment banking instead! But most people also think that forcing a young teenager to make life career choices is probably a bad idea, and that the choice should be left a little later.
This week, however, Powell lost all credibility when she blamed a rise in the numbers of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEETs) to a decision made by Michael Gove 16 years ago.
When Gove became education secretary, UK standards had collapsed on international comparisons. So, he forced schools to prioritise academic standards, and the UK has now recovered to be better than our international peers.
But since Labour came to government 2 years ago, numbers have risen to 16% of the cohort, with around 1,000,000 youngsters classed as NEET
Powel clearly didn’t study maths and has failed to appreciate outcomes from incentives. In 2024, Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves hiked employment taxes, hiked minimum wage for new starters, and toughened employment laws for new workers. Disincentivise employers from taking on first-jobbers and you inevitably drive higher unemployment amongst that group.
It's like when Powel’s predecessor taxed education. Private schools are closing and displaced pupils are putting more pressure on the state sector.
As one economist said, “show me the incentive, and I’ll give you the outcome”. It seems Labour must have been absent the day they did economics at school.
