Yesterday the leader of the opposition, Kevin Rudd delivered his reply to this week's budget. One of the main promises is a plan to fund every high school in Australia with a $ 1.5 million grant to turn it into a source of practical training for students to learn a trade. This contrasts with the government's promise to establish three new super-technical college campuses in this country to achieve the same results.
Both ideas are impractical.
We desperately need to train young people to resolve the skills shortage that is pushing up wages and restraining business expansion, but that training should be available on a short commute from home, not as a resident in some huge university like complex which could be in another state.
The idea of turning every high school into a trade school runs the risk of short circuiting the existing curriculum which trains students to achieve the higher school certificate and go on to university.
The idea of introducing motor engineering, carpentry and other trades which involve welding, grinding, sheet metal work - and similar noise producing activities into existing high schools is simply impractical. The idea of setting up such trades in existing buildings is sheer lunacy, and few schools have sufficient space to accommodate specialist buildings.
Both sides of politics have the right idea - that we need to provide in schooling more than just a qualification to go to university. Not all students are suited to an academic career - and the country is crying out for skilled tradesmen and tradeswomen to advance our economic progress.
All it needs is for the two sides of politics to combine their ideas. Yes - we need high schools to teach trades. Yes - we need speciality units away from existing academic teaching institutions to avoid noise and hazard contamination.
So - why not a bit of both ? More specialist high schools - separate from existing high schools - with a trade motif ?
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