Should Students Be Allowed To Work At The Age Of 14?

The former head of the Confederation of British Industry believes children should be allowed to leave school at 14 to begin working and boost Britain’s economy

Lord Digby Jones is the former Trade Minister and CBI Director General and some recent comments he made in Great Britain regarding the age children should be allowed to quit school and begin working have raised eyebrows across the pond.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Murray Wardrop covers the controversial statements from Lord Jones.

Disruptive pupils would be better off abandoning mainstream education and “earning a few bob” to encourage growth, Lord Jones of Birmingham believes.

Allowing youngsters to embark on vocational training and get jobs at 14 would fill the skills gap while stimulating economic growth through increased spending, Lord Jones said.

The former Labour Trade Minister said British businesses are struggling through a lack of skilled young people, meaning employers are forced to hire workers from overseas.

But Lord Jones is not the only one weighing in on the subject. Teaching leaders warned that the idea would lead to millions of young people becoming “trapped” in poorly-paying jobs.  They argue that those who drop out of school without basic levels of literacy and numeracy are destined to a lower-class existence. The suggestion made by Jones comes as official GDP figures show Britain’s economy failed to exhibit any growth between April and June.  Growth was down to 0.2 per cent from the 0.5 per cent expansion seen in the previous quarter.

Lord Jones, who was himself expelled from public school for streaking, said: “We’ve got to appreciate that the world’s changed and there are loads of kids in school today who at 14 are more mature, and so many of them are disruptive.

“They are disruptive to themselves, disruptive to the class, and they’re disruptive to the teacher.

The former CBI director general claimed that with more skilled young people and a weak pound, Britain could re-establish itself as a manufacturing nation and shift the economy away from the banks and public sector.