Paul
Finch, Chairman of the IoD Essex branch has picked up the thread of “Is
Education in Essex failing business?” as the subject for a keynote event and
the highlight of this year’s activities.
‘The
Big Essex Debate’, which follows the format of a traditional debate, will take
place at the Chamber of Essex County Council on Thursday
23 June. The event will feature key figures from the world of business, education and politics including
Stephen Castle; the Essex County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Geoff
Morris; a serial entrepreneur and business mentor. It is hoped that the real
issues of education delivering an able, literate, skilled generation, able to
participate fully in the business and commercial life of their community, will
be placed firmly on the agenda.
With
much criticism in the press of the standards of education, Paul Finch has been
listening to his members’ views on the subject. He comments: “I am constantly receiving feedback from owners
and directors of Essex based companies that young employees coming out of the
education system are not prepared for the work environment. They lack
discipline, attitude and, in many cases, fundamental skills for an office
environment”.
Paul
started this campaign following frustrations in his own growing e-commerce
start-up business - www.spares4appliances.co.uk.
He comments: “When you are in start-up mode, you need bright, hungry and
enthusiastic people who are eager to help you explore the immense opportunity ahead.
Instead I get approached by a lot of unenthusiastic, unwilling candidates who
think life owes them something because they got a degree in a life style subject”.
Paul’s
views are shared by many, but equally there are many business executives
spending energy in the education sector, lending their support to help improve
matters, so there is a lot of disagreement about what is going on in reality.
To
book your place and join the debate, please contact the Branch Administrator on
01376 518795 or email admin.essex@iod.net.
Members and non-members can book online by visiting www.iod.com/essex/events. Tickets
are £25.
