Company directors have called on the next government to avoid “unnecessary distractions” such as creating new grammar schools.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) said the focus should instead be on tackling the teacher shortage “crisis”, which could have a “detrimental effect” on the availability of skilled workers.

In the latest of its manifesto papers in the run-up to the election, the IoD, which has 30,000 members, also called for new tax breaks for training workers and said the apprenticeship levy should be reformed.

It added there should be mandatory work experience and access to a full-time careers coach for all pupils, and much better collaboration between schools and business.

In the Education for an Evolving Economy report, written by Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills policy at the IoD, the organisation calls for: 

• The next government to avoid “unnecessary distractions such as creating extra grammar schools” 
• A focus on “more pressing concerns” facing schools, such as the “teacher shortage crisis”, which threatens to have a “detrimental effect on the skills pipeline for employers”
• The apprenticeship levy to be reformed as they say the “one-size-fits-all model does not give employers or the self-employed the flexibility to provide and use the most appropriate forms of training”
• Education curricula to be monitored and re-examined by an independent body, advising schools on subject choice to produce “a workforce for relevant demands, free from political interference”
   

Mr Nevin writes: “The shortage of teachers in key subjects including science and maths threatens to have detrimental knock-on effects for employers. If young people cannot study and do well in these subjects then the pipeline of school leavers and graduates with the skills required to fill shortage occupations will not meet demand and thus hurt our economy.” 

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