I congratulate The TES on its Business Links supplement (June 13). The convergence of the world of education with the world of work will, if handled sensitively and undertaken in a spirit of true partnership, provide the catalyst which raises the attainment of the great majority of our young people.
How disappointing, then, to find not one mention in all 32 pages of a national initiative covering 121 local authorities, involving 5,000 schools, 250, 000 pupils, 140 colleges and 1,100 companies which this year received a National Training Award, and which, according to a succession of National Foundation for Educational Research evaluations, has demonstrated that it has raised motivation and achievement over a seven-year period.
The Construction Industry Training Board’s Construction Curriculum Initiative, through its network of 121 curriculum centres, has, since 1989, successfully delivered a whole industry partnership with each phase of education from primary upwards. Construction employers, not always associated with innovation in education, have so far invested Pounds 6 million in this programme, and their support has remained steadfast, even through the depths of the recession in the early 1990s.
They, and the schools and pupils involved, are now reaping the benefits and deserve national recognition for their far-sightedness. It is a shame that your readers were not allowed to share in the secret.
Professor MICHAEL ROMANS, Provost designate, University of Westminster, Faculty of the Environment, London NW1