Ben Blackledge, CEO of WorldSkills UK, shares how a key Pearson partnership is helping boost the profile of technical and professional education.
Key takeaways:
- The skills gap highlights an urgent need for vocational training.
- WorldSkills UK is helping to raise the standards and profile of apprenticeships and technical education so more young people and employers succeed.
- Pearson is the official sponsor of Team UK in the WordSkills Lyon 2024 “Skills Olympics”
Many industries face a skills gap, where there's a disparity between the skills they need, and the ones employees have. According to the World Economic Forum, the skills gap could result in an economic loss of $8.5 trillion globally by 2030.
Vocational training offers a practical solution to this, equipping young people with the skills and knowledge they need for employment and entrepreneurship, and helping economies thrive.
Since WorldSkills and the United Nations (UNESCO) launched the first World Youth Skills Day a decade ago, I have seen time and again the transformative power of technical and professional education. I’m passionate about raising the profile, and standards, of vocational training and apprenticeships. Young people from all backgrounds deserve to be able to make informed career choices that are right for them.
This World Youth Skills Day, I’m excited to join forces with Pearson as official partner of Team UK as we prepare for the WorldSkills ‘Olympics’ in Lyon in September.
Boosting the profile of technical education
The most recent Youth Voice Census from Youth Employment UK shows that young people are still twice as likely to consider going to university than picking an apprenticeship.
I think we need to change the culture around this; we need to invest in both the perception and reality of skills in the UK and beyond. There’s that saying: “If you can see it, you can be it.” We want to create excitement for young people around vocational career choices, and the opportunities and successes they can lead to. We want young people to see that peers just like them are taking cars apart, installing radiators, cooking soufflés, administering injections, planning windfarms. Doing what they’re good at, having fun, and setting themselves up for a career they love. What could be more rewarding than that?
I believe we must also collectively ensure that vocational training standards are kept high and at pace with latest innovations, so that companies can compete on a national and international level.
Warming up for WorldSkills Lyon 2024
With Pearson as our official partner, we’re sending 31 exceptional young people to France in September to compete in WorldSkills Lyon 2024 (think Olympic Games for skills!) As soon as the Olympic flame is extinguished in Paris, Team UK will compete in disciplines including cyber security, renewable energy, digital construction, cooking, hairdressing, painting and decorating.
One of them will be Simonas, a 22-year-old undergraduate at Kingston University studying Aerospace Engineering. He will represent the UK in a new discipline called ‘Industry 4.0’ which merges the latest technologies from industrial automation.
Simonas, who moved to London from Lithuania as a teenager, attributes his success to BTEC: “My BTEC was a great introduction to Engineering. It gave me practical experience in different areas and really ignited my passions for the subject.”
Another of the squad is Ruby, who will represent the UK in Restaurant Services. Ruby is from Newport in Wales and works at the prestigious Lucknam Park Hotel & Spa. “My BTEC helped me establish a well-rounded knowledge of theory and practical experience within the sector. It also gave me the flexibility to earn and learn at the same time.”
So good luck to Simonas and Ruby and the rest of Team UK as they prepare for WorldSkills Lyon. Working together, we can empower young people to choose world-class technical and professional education to launch their careers. In doing so, we will set a new ambition for skills that focuses on excellence, investment, jobs, and economic growth across the UK and beyond.
Find out more about WorldSkills UK and explore Pearson’s vocational qualifications.
Meet Team UK 2024