It is the best policy for the UK government to be more concerned with sending young people to university than increasing the manufacturing skills base through work-based training programmes. Discuss

It is the best policy for the UK government to be more concerned with sending young people to university than increasing the manufacturing skills base through work-based training programmes. The standard the UK government aspires to is one of innovation and economic sustainability both of which is offered by such a policy.The proven benefits of university education in generating a skilled labour force in combination with contemporary economic realities rendering development of manufacturing as obsolete in the UK context.Widespread entry into university education is not only the hallmark of an economically sustainable economy but one which is also innovative and forward looking. A university education, in the UK context particularly, provides the environment in which young people can develop academic abilities such as critical thinking, researching, as well as argumentation. Whilst, this notion maybe questioned by many it is not without foundation. The UK attracts a vast pool of international students every year. Why? It enables students to challenge the status quo through its approach, which is conducive to research and experimentation; breeding innovation and development to the envy of many. Whilst this may seem largely esoteric, it has tangible economic benefits as the UK economy will continue to innovate and remain competitive in the increasingly ruthless global economic climate. Such innovation and research is not facilitated to such an extent by work based training programmes encouraging the antithesis of such an approach,encouraging conformity through reliance on standards and procedures which in economic terms simply means stagnation and instability. It can also be argued that the UK economy has moved on from industrialisation and therefore does not need the increase in the manufacturing skills base implied to be desirable in the statement. The UK economy relies largely on its services namely the financial sectors as its source of export revenue rather than manufactured goods. It has developed this comparative advantage in this industry and has benefitted enormously from it. Unlike manufactured goods the demand for services is inelastic in the global economy meaning a given price change will lead to a less than proportional change in quantity demanded. Thus, it continues to be profitable for the UK economy and therefore in the UK government’s best interests to encourage the youth participation in university education prerequisite for the continuation of this trend. A counterargument may arise, many argue that a university degree has become meaningless in the UK context with the rise of “mickey-mouse” degrees.These are degrees perceived as being of less worth due to the types or lack of skills they develop. However, whilst there may exist degrees which are perceived of as being less value to society by in large they all contribute in development in some way. For example film and media studies is perceived as less valuable and worthless, however, without a university education supporting such degrees there wouldn’t be the plethora of cinematographic masterpieces that the UK and the developed world can be proud of. University education builds intellectual capital in ways many cannot directly see. Even courses which many claim to have no objective worth such as golfing attract such few students that they are not worth considering as a significant counterexample to the benefits of an university education. Work based training programmes may offer tangible and objectively valuable skills but they lack the capacity of aforementioned courses in developing