A Tale of Three Little Pigs: Building the Learning Society with Straw

This article has two main aims. First, it will be argued that the policies of both the British government and of the European Commission (EC) with regard to building a learning society are considered to be timid, narrowly conceived and inadequate to the task. Politicians are trying to construct a new society with the intellectual equivalent of straw rather than bricks. Change to a learning society is apparently to be brought about by improving the vocational education and training of individuals. This concentration on developing the skills of individuals conveniently diverts attention away from more radical measures. It is, however, easier to criticise than to construct; and so the second aim is to outline briefly an alternative White Paper on Vocational Education, Training and Employment and to propose some more robust policy alternatives for discussion and debate.