From the business desk: A little education could go a long way

Hundreds of students across the Herald and Gazette area have received their GCSE results in recent days '“ but is there a gaping hole left in their CV?
W26306H13OliPoole

Business Picture. Worthing Herald Business Reporter, Oli Poole. SUS-160418-101125003W26306H13OliPoole

Business Picture. Worthing Herald Business Reporter, Oli Poole. SUS-160418-101125003
W26306H13OliPoole Business Picture. Worthing Herald Business Reporter, Oli Poole. SUS-160418-101125003

The majority will not have been educated in important life skills, including business, personal finance or knowledge of politics. If the option was there, it would not have been compulsory.

Most schools do not take part in the Young Enterprise scheme – a project which enables young people to set up their own company.

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Their best business lesson, therefore, is likely to be in front of a television screen, watching Dragons’ Den.

And while the likes of Peter Jones and Deborah Meaden are undoubtedly two of the best to learn from, it should not be their job alone to educate the masses.

On the political front, scouring social media over the weekend, I could not help but notice a fine example of the problem.

The transformation of Worthing’s Montague Place is all but complete, following lobbying from traders over the desperate need for a public realm revamp.

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While the need for improvement was recognised by businesses, the project has come under criticism from some residents on social media.

But the most striking problem – one I have seen numerous times – was the fact few knew who was responsible for the project in the first place.

Worthing Borough Council appeared to get the blame at times – even though it was a West Sussex County Council project. Conversation moved on to wider problems in the town centre, from events to crippling business rates and rents – yet few seemed to understand the role of the Town Centre Initiative or the Government.

It is a similar issue when residents understandably demand action on major developments, yet often fail to realise many are often in private ownership and there is little councils can do.

A little education could go a long way. Certainly one for the new Secretary of State for Education to ponder. What do you think?