Learning needs to translate into real employment opportunities according to Lord David Ramsbotham

Lord David Ramsbotham believes that, as the pace of global competition intensifies, the British education system is failing to meet the needs of students and the country.

A former army general, who has served in Northern Ireland among other places, Ramsbotham was Her Majesty's Chief lnspector of Prisons between December 1995 and August 2001.

He is a strong supporter of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) and was President of the City & Guilds Association for two years, as well as a member of the Fellowship Committee and the Advancement and Strategy Committee.

'I first came to be involved with City & Guilds when I was an Adjutant General in the early 1990s. It was the end of the Cold War and the forces were going to be cut from 150,000 to 104,000 over three years.

We needed to present military skills, such as driving a tank or equipment repair, as being relevant to other walks of life,' remembers Ramsbotham. 'NVQs and other City & Guilds awards had credibility with employers and they were practical, so we looked at every military course and applied an award to it.'

While serving as Chief lnspector of Prisons, Ramsbotham again decided to work with City & Guilds in a similar scheme, introducing awards into the prison system so that offenders had a set of recognised and respected qualifications when they re-entered society.

'I remember when the Leyland truck company had a skills shortage. They went to Preston prison where they identified the people they needed who were then trained. That has relevance for every firm.'

For Ramsbotham, the role of education should be primarily about meeting the needs of employers and he believes that the current efforts to bridge the skills gap, such as the Leitch Review, are too removed from what people need. Skills training should have the same status as academic. The contribution that City & Guilds can make is vital, ensuring that the mechanism that connects training to employment is concrete and transparent to everyone,' he says. 'The only raw material that every nation has in common is people, so we need to encourage them.'