The director of HR policy at the confederation of British Industry (CBI) will sit on an expert advisory group for the government to help shape new qualifications.
Susan Anderson will work with academics, teachers, educational bodies and diploma champion Mike Tomlinson to ensure that business contributes by providing insights into the way particular sectors work, to help young people make better informed career decisions.
The panel has been set up alongside government plans, announced today, to provide additional diplomas in science, language and humanities, due to be available to 14- to 19-year-olds from 2011.
Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI, said: “The diplomas are designed to ensure young people develop the skills they need – literacy, numeracy and employability – and make them realise how these skills are relevant to their working lives.
“If it is to be successful, the diploma system must be properly promoted to students, parents, universities and employers. Business must play its part by providing high quality work experience which enables students to develop and apply the skills they’ve learned in the classroom.”
There are plans for 14 diplomas to be introduced over the next three years. The first five, including construction and the built environment and engineering, will be offered for the first time in September 2009.
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Diplomas to follow include business, administration and finance, in an attempt to raise the skills of the future UK workforce in response to the Leitch Review.
Ed Balls, education secretary, said: “We need the business and academic worlds to continue to back these qualifications and help make them a success. With their support, I believe that Diplomas could emerge as the jewel of our education system.”
