Education and skills for every stage of life

A strong education system should do more than produce good exam results. Academic achievement matters, but education must also give people different routes into worthwhile careers, help them develop new skills throughout their working lives and equip the Isle of Man to respond to a changing economy.

It must also work for children who need additional support. Success cannot be measured only through exam results or the number of pupils progressing to university. Whatever a child's starting point, needs or ambitions, our education system should help them develop their abilities, confidence and practical life skills as far as possible.

For some, that will mean academic study. For others it may mean vocational training, an apprenticeship, supported employment or developing greater independence in everyday life. The route will be different for each person, but no child should be left behind simply because their needs do not fit neatly within a conventional academic pathway. That requires appropriate support, skilled staff and educational provision capable of responding to individual needs.

University will be the right route for many people, but it is not the only measure of success. Technical education, apprenticeships and skilled trades should be treated as equally credible routes into productive and rewarding careers.

We also need to recognise that education does not end when somebody leaves school or college. Industries change, technology develops and new economic opportunities emerge. We cannot predict exactly which skills the Manx economy will need in ten or twenty years' time, but we can make sure our education and training system is capable of recognising change and responding to it.

That requires stronger and more accessible links between education, employers and economic development. Government already has structures intended to identify skills needs. The important test is whether employers and individuals can engage with them easily, whether emerging problems are heard and whether that feedback actually results in changes to training, funding and support.

Making apprenticeships work

Apprenticeships are a good example of where that responsiveness matters.

We should listen directly to apprentices and to the businesses expected to train them, particularly sole traders and small firms. Entry requirements need to maintain the literacy, numeracy and technical standards genuinely required to complete a qualification and work safely, but we should also examine whether they unnecessarily prevent capable people from pursuing a skilled trade.

We also need to recognise the real cost of training an apprentice. In the early stages, an apprentice may require significant supervision, spend part of the working week at college and contribute relatively little productive work. For a large business that cost may be easier to absorb. For a sole trader or small firm it can make taking on an apprentice financially unrealistic.

I would therefore support reviewing whether apprenticeship assistance is targeted at the points where employers face the greatest training cost, including whether a more graduated approach could help more small businesses offer apprenticeships while still rewarding progression and completion.

The aim should not simply be to announce more schemes or count how many apprenticeships begin. It should be to increase the number of people who successfully gain valuable skills and the number of employers genuinely able to train them.

Skills throughout working life

A responsive education system must also recognise that people's circumstances and careers change.

New industries will emerge, existing jobs will evolve and some skills will become more valuable while others decline. People should have realistic opportunities to retrain where that helps them move into sustainable employment or where the Island has a clear need for particular skills.

That does not mean providing unlimited publicly funded education without regard to outcomes. Support should be targeted where it can genuinely improve someone's employment prospects, help address skills shortages or strengthen the wider economy.

Creating reasons to stay, return and invest here

I do not believe success means persuading every young person to remain on the Isle of Man. Leaving to study, work and gain experience elsewhere can be enormously valuable.

Our objective should be to ensure that staying is a realistic choice and that people who leave have genuine opportunities to return and bring those skills and experiences home. We should also want the Isle of Man to be attractive to skilled people who were not born here but want to build careers, businesses and families here.

Education, economic development and housing therefore cannot be considered entirely in isolation. Strong schools and training opportunities make the Island more attractive to families and businesses. Good jobs provide a reason for skilled people to stay or return. Affordable and suitable housing gives them the practical ability to do so.

We will not know precisely what the next major opportunity for the Manx economy will be. Rather than pretending government can predict it, I want us to build the foundations that allow us to respond when opportunities arise: strong education, adaptable skills, productive businesses and an Island where people can realistically build their future.