We first looked round the former Kingsland Upper School site with Ken Baker in Feb 2011, it is now a reality & a system of training young people for the workplace which is well overdue.
The German model of technical training has proved a massive help to their economy & the UTC will have the full support of local commerce & industry which will train young people for the kind of jobs that the local economy needs.
Ken Baker is joined by SW Beds MP, Andrew Selous, Chairman of Central Beds, Angela Barker and other local dignitaries for the planting of a commemorative tree.
Oh how we never learn lessons from history. No better examples are found in our educational system which has continually been subjected to significant change and reorganisation, usually driven by the personal vanity of policy makers wishing to “put their stamp on things” , or being high jacked as a vote crabbing tool by the political party of the day. Reading this article reminds me of my late Father who home studied and sat the entrance examination for the then newly built Luton Technical Institute in Park Square. He was subsequently awarded one of only two scholarships being offered throughout Bedfordshire and his family were so poor that Luton Town Council also kindly purchased his uniform so he could attend ! This institute was one of a selected number built across England to offer an alternative to the traditional university curriculum by focussing on technical design and engineering. My late Farther then went on to become a successful Chartered Engineer with an interlude where he gave up his reserved occupation as a designer to join the army in WW2, another example of his determination and values for which I remain eternally proud. Forgive my digressions but my point is, almost 80 years ago we recognised the need and economic value of supporting and developing our engineering talent. Moreover, it is something that as a nation we’ve always been bloody good at. I’m pleased to read that in the opening of this centre of technical excellence we seem to be recognising this fact again. I can’t help feeling equally sad, however, of the undoubted number lost opportunities and talent in between. I live in hope that as a country we will at some point have an education system that is in tune and engaged with commerce and industry, rewards engineering talent equally, and is overseen strictly on a cross party basis in order to avoid being endlessly buggered about by any particular political party/person(s). A blueprint for educational success right there ! Yours Mike Simkins
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