Extracts from second
reading debate (Lords) of the Technical and Further Education
Bill
(Con):...Those vacancies were at the skilled
labouring end of the skills gap but if you start at the top end
with STEM graduates, the gap is even greater. The Royal Academy of
Engineering forecast three years ago that we would need an extra
45,000 STEM graduates each year up until 2020 and we are just not
meeting that. This year in Davos, the number of STEM graduates
around the world was estimated and there was an interesting
circular diagram, which showed that two-thirds of STEM graduates
today come from two countries in the world: India and China. That is a clear
indication of where the wealth of the world is going to go over the
next 20 or 30 years. America came a distant third and I barely
found where we were; we were a statistical blip. We were barely
there on STEM graduates. The Government clearly must, first,
improve the teaching of maths dramatically in our country because
unless they do we will not get an increase in STEM graduates. I
know that they have various proposals to do that but the importance
of this cannot be exaggerated...
...To see how far we are from America, I say that
the chief executive of Microsoft is an Indian, Satya Nadella, who decided
to set up a team to develop artificial intelligence and build a new
operating system. The team that he set up had 5,000 computer
engineers. We simply could not do that in Britain; frankly, it
could not even be done in Europe. There is a huge need for
investment in computing and digital skills, which are all part of
the later stages of apprenticeship....
(Con):...My
Lords, we are going through an age that will be remembered in
years to come as one of great upheaval and change in the global
economy. We face a multitude of challenges in our changing world.
Rapidly growing countries such as China and India have more
bright students than we have students. So that we do not get left
behind, and can continue to be a world economic leader, we need
to respond to this change...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
Extract from second
reading debate (Commons) of the European Union (Notification
of Withdrawal) Bill
(Rhondda) (Lab):...I know that is not the
tradition of the Rhondda. We were built on migrants from England,
Scotland, Ireland and Italy. This country was built on the sweat,
the courage, the ingenuity and the get up and go of Huguenots,
Normans, Protestants fleeing the inquisition, Irish Catholics
fleeing famine, Jews escaping persecution, Polish airmen, Spanish
nurses, Indian doctors and Afro-Caribbeans
who wanted to help make this country great...
To read the whole debate, CLICK
HERE
