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T H I S D O C U M E N T I S T H E P R O P E R T Y O F H E R B R I T A N N I C M A J E S T Y ' S G O V E R N M E N T

S E C R E T

C . P . ( 5 6 ) 4 0 C O P Y N O .

1 6 t h F e b r u a r y , I 9 5 6

C A B I N E T

T E C H N I C A L E D U C A T I O N

N o t e b y t h e L o r d P r i v y S e a l , t h e S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r

S c o t l a n d a n d t h e M i n i s t e r o f E d u c a t i o n

T h e a t t a c h e d d r a f t W h i t e F a p e r o n T e c h n i c a l E d u c a t i o n h a s b e e n p r e p a r e d i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e c o n c l u s i o n s r e a c h e d b y t h e C a b i n e t a t t h e i r m e e t i n g o n 4 t h J a n u a r y ( C 0 M , ( 5 6 ) 2 n d C o n c l u s i o n s , M i n u t e 6 ) , I t h a s b e e n a p p r o v e d , s u b j e c t t o c e r t a i n a m e n d m e n t s w h i c h h a v e n o w b e e n m a d e , b y a C o m m i t t e e c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e L o r d P r i v y S e a l , t h e M i n i s t e r o f E d u c a t i o n , t h e M i n i s t e r o f L a b o u r , t h e F i n a n c i a l S e c r e t a r y to t h e T r e a s u r y a n d t h e J o i n t P a r l i a m e n t a r y . U n d e r - S e c r e t a r y o f S t a t e f o r S c o t l a n d .

2 . W e i n v i t e o u r c o l l e a g u e s to a p p r o v e t h e W h i t e P a p e r f o r v e r y e a r l y p u b l i c a t i o n .

R , A B . a

J . S e

D . E .

1 5 t h F e b r u a r y , 1 9 5 6 *

C O N F I D E N T I A L

TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Presented to Parliament by the Minister of Education and

the Secretary of State for Scotland

by Command of Her Majesty

February 1956

L O N D O N

H E R M A J E ST Y ' S S T A T I O N E R Y O F F I C E NET

C O N T E N T S

DEFINITIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER I—England and Wales : technical educat ion today

CHAPTER II—The role of the universities

CHAPTER III—The p lan for the technical colleges of Eng land a n d Wales

CHAPTER I V - S c o t l a n d ... ... ...

CHAPTER V—Conclus ion ... ... . . . ... '.

APPENDIX A — N o t e o n the U.S.A. , the U.S.S .R. and Western E u r o p e . . .

APPENDIX B—Repor t o n Sandwich t ra in ing a n d educat ion by the N a t i o n a l Advisory Counci l on Educa t ion for Industry and Commerce

C O N F I D E N T I A L 15th Februa ry , 1956.

T E C H N I C A L E D U C A T I O N White Paper by the Minister of Education and

the Secretary of State for Scotland

D E F I N I T I O N S

Most of those who pass th rough the system of technical educat ion a n d m a k e their careers in manufactur ing industry are divided into three categories:. technologists, technicians and craftsmen. For the purposes of this Paper these are defined broadly as f o l l o w s : —

Technologists A technologist has the qualifications and experience required for member ­

ship of a professional institution. Most university graduates in engineering and other applied sciences, and a good propor t ion of holders of Higher Nat ional Dip lomas or Certificates or similar qualifications, become technologists.

A technologist has studied the fundamenta l principles of his chosen tech­nology and should be able to use his knowledge and experience to initiate practical developments . H e is expected to accept a high degree of responsi­bility and in many cases to push forward the boundar ies of knowledge in his own part icular field.

Technicians A technician is qualified by specialist technical education and practical

training to work under the general direction of a technologist. Consequent ly, he will require a good knowledge of mathemat ics and science related to his own speciality. E x a m p l e s of technicians in the factory are assistant designers and junior ranks of managemen t on the shop floor.

Craftsmen Craftsmen represent the skilled labour of manufactur ing industry a n d

account for more than one-third of its manpower . With the growing com­plexity of machines and the introduction of new materials it becomes all the more necessary for t hem to apprecia te not only the how but also the why of the work they do .

T h e following are the principal qualifications associated with the three categories defined a b o v e : —

University Degrees A university honours degree is usually accepted for complete or. par t ia l

exempt ion from the examinat ions of professional institutions. Some colleges of technology are affiliated to universities under ar rangements which enable an internal degree to be obtained after a course a t the college. More widely spread courses a r e held in major colleges for students intending to t ake external degrees of L o n d o n University.

Technical College Dip lomas Certain technical colleges award their own d ip lomas or associateships at

the end of courses at technological level, most of which are full-time.

National Diplomas and Certificates Nat iona l D ip lomas and Certificates a re awarded jointly by the Ministry of

Educa t ion or the Scottish E d u c a t i o n D e p a r t m e n t and the professional institu­t ions concerned. The re are two g r a d e s : Ordinary and Higher .

T h e Ord inary Nat ional D i p l o m a is awarded to Successful students who have t aken a full-time course for two years from a m i n i m u m age of sixteen. T h e Higher Nat ional D ip loma is: awarded after a three years ' full-time course starting a t a m i n i m u m age of eighteen. Higher Na t iona l D ip lomas a r e usually recognised for exempt ion from certain examina t ions of professional institutions.

The Ord ina ry Nat ional Certificate is obta ined by successful students a t the end of a par t - t ime course lasting th ree years from the age of sixteen, and the Higher Na t iona l Certificate after two years ' further study. I t is c o m m o n for s tudents w h o have ga ined the Higher Na t iona l Certificate to pursue their s tudies t o a level which provides comple te exempt ion from the examinat ions of professional insti tutions.

Certificates of the City and Guilds of London Institute Final and Fu l l Technological Certificates are awarded at t he end of par t ­

t ime courses of four or five years from the age of sixteen upwards . I n craft subjects they represent t he highest s tandards of skilled craf tsmanship, In termedia te Certificates are awarded on the result of examina t ion after a two year course. T h e Insti tute also holds examinat ions at technician level. These are broadly scientific in scope a n d in certain subjects a re of a s tandard approximat ing to that required for a technologist .

Certificates of Regional Examining Unions In Eng land a n d Wales there a re four Regiona l Examin ing Un ions which

work in close co-operat ion with the City a n d Guilds of L o n d o n Inst i tute and hold examinat ions of a similar level at the In te rmedia te stage a n d higher stages. Students then proceed to the final examinat ion of the City and Guilds of L o n d o n Institute.

Other Professional and Trade Certificates In addit ion t o the above qualifications awarded by examining bodies there

are m a n y certificates awarded on examinat ion by professional a n d t rade organisations.

I N T R O D U C T I O N

The Pr ime Minister, speaking at Bradford on 18th Janua ry , referred to the world-wide scientific revolution. H e sa id : " T h e prizes will no t go to the countries with the largest popula t ion . Those wi th the best systems of educa­tion will win. Science and technical skill give a dozen men the power to d o as much as thousands did fifty years ago. O u r scientists a re doing bri l l iant work. B u t if we are to m a k e full use of w h a t we are learning, w e shall need many m o r e scientists, engineers and technicians. I am determined tha t this shortage shall b e m a d e good ."

2. T h e figures given later in this Pape r show h o w greatly the British system of scientific and technical educat ion has expanded since before the war: Between 1938 a n d 1955 the n u m b e r of university s tudents in science and technology has doubled and since the Educa t ion Acts of 1944 a n d 1945, more schools and technical colleges have been built, m o r e teachers have been recruited and more interest has been shown in educat ion by parents and employers than in any corresponding period in our history.

3. But this is nothing like enough. F r o m the U.S.A., Russ ia a n d Western E u r o p e comes the challenge to look to our system of technical educat ion to see whether it bears compar ison with w h a t is being d o n e ab road . Such comparisons cannot be m a d e accurately because s tandards a n d systems Of education vary so much, but it is clear enough tha t all these countries are making an immense effort to t ra in more scientific and technical manpower and tha t we are in danger of being left behind. A note a b o u t recent developments in the U.S.A., Russ ia and Western E u r o p e is given in Append ix A .

4. But we do not need the spur of foreign examples . O u r own circum­stances show clearly enough the policies which we mus t pursue . O u r a ims are to strengthen the foundations of our economy, to improve the s tandards of living of our people, and to discharge effectively our manifold respon­sibilities overseas. Our success in each case will turn largely on our ability to secure a steady increase in industr ia l output , in product ive investment, and in exports of goods and services of t h e highest quali ty a t competi t ive prices. One industry after another is be ing compelled t o follow its com­petitor, supplier or customer in modernis ing its techniques , knowing that unless new mater ia ls are discovered and new methods appl ied, British industry may fall behind in the race. T h e pace of change is quickening, a n d with it bo th the need and the demand for technical educat ion.

5. The d e m a n d will be no less urgent f rom the less developed countries overseas, w h o m it is our duty and our interest to he lp win for themselves a higher s tandard of life. This can be done in two w a y s : there must b e more places in our universities and technical colleges for overseas s tudents , and more British experts must be avai lable t o work or teach ab road .

6. W e face, then, an intense and rising demand for scientific m a n p o w e r and by n o means only for men and women with the highest qualifications. Every technologist relies on technicians a n d craftsmen t o t rans la te his plans into products . I t would be a great mistake to increase the ou tpu t of technologists wi thout adequately support ing them at the lower levels from which in any event many of them are drawn. M u c h therefore depends on strengthening the base of the pyramid of technical educa t ion by improving the educat ion in the schools and raising the numbers of school-leavers w ho are ab le and willing to t ake successfully the courses offered a t technical colleges.

7. Here the prospects are good. T h e r o m a n c e of science is catching on as can be seen even in the toy shops. Every year parents and chi ldren a re taking a greater interest in technical educat ion. M o r e boys a n d girls a re staying on at school after the statutory leaving age ; m o r e are taking science and more are continuing their educat ion after s choo l ; and m o r e a re succeed­ing in the courses on which they have embarked . These are welcome signs tha t the base of the pyramid is growing stronger. I t will also grow larger, since the age-groups from which Indust ry and the technical colleges a re now recruiting are the smallest for a h u n d r e d years . Soon the figures will c l imb upwards . Las t year the number of 1 8 year olds in Br i ta in was 642 ,000 ; in ten years ' t ime it will be about 850,000.

8. Technical educat ion must not be too narrowly vocat ional or too confined t o one skill or t rade . Swift change is t he characterist ic of our age, so that a ma in purpose of the technical educat ion of the future mus t b e t o teach boys and girls to be adaptab le . Versatil i ty has been the a im of a classical educat ion ; technical studies should lead to a similar versatility and should, therefore, be firmly grounded on the fundamenta ls of mathemat ics a n d science. I t is much easier to adopt new ideas a n d new techniques when the principles on which they are based are already familiar.

JIM

9. T h e range of technical educat ion goes far beyond the study of mater ia ls and mechanics. Accountancy , costing, sa lesmanship, commercia l skills of all k inds , including foreign languages, a re equally impor tan t to a great t rading nation. Ful l employment brings new problems which a re more likely to be soluble the wider is the unders tanding of how our economy works. Such subjects as economics , business management , wage systems and h u m a n relations mus t now be given more prominence .

TO. In a senss, all technical progress rests upon the c o m m o n foundat ion of language, and more at tention will have to be given to the teaching of good plain English, the use of which saves t ime and money a n d avoids t rouble. Wi thout it bridges are h a r d to bui ld over the gulfs tha t separate experts in different specialised subjects not only from the general public but from one another .

11. A place must always be found in technical studies for l iberal educa­tion. T h e t ime avai lable often limits wha t can be done in the way of in t roducing into the cur r icu lum subjects such as history, l i terature a n d the ar ts , bu t in any event a wide t reatment of scientific and technical subjects is essential if s tudents who a re to occupy responsible posit ions in industry are to emerge from their educat ion with a b r o a d out look. W e cannot afford either to fall behind in technical accomplishments or to neglect spiritual and h u m a n values.

12. Against this background the Government have reviewed the system of technical education in Grea t Bri tain. They are resolved that it shall fully ma tch the needs of mode rn industry and offer t o every boy and girl the chance of seizing the opportuni t ies which scientific progress is opening before them. This Whi te Paper , having described the progress m a d e dur ing the last ten years and the plans a l ready in h a n d , announces proposals by the Government for a new major advance .

C H A P T E R I

E N G L A N D A N D W A L E S

T E C H N I C A L E D U C A T I O N T O - D A Y

T h e school backg round 13. P lans for technical educat ion must t ake account of progress in the

schools . A varied pa t te rn of secondary educat ion is being developed. T h e a im is to help each boy and girl to go as far as their ability a n d perseverance will take them. F o r this purpose the organisat ion and interest of the work at the t o p of secondary schools a re vitally impor tan t , for at fifteen children are free to leave school.

1.4. The re are three main types of secondary school : g r ammar , technical a n d modern . They t ake abou t 20 per cent., 5 per cent., a n d 75 per cent, of an age-group respectively. T h e propor t ions vary from one area to another to meet local c ircumstances and preferences. Combina t ions of two Of these types consti tute " b i l a t e r a l " schools, and some local educat ion authori t ies are exper iment ing with comprehensive schools, which a im to give children under one roof the oppor tuni ty of all three types of secondary educat ion at s tandards no t inferior to those prevailing in separate schools.

15. Recent developments in the schools promise well for the future of technical education. I n the g r a m m a r schools the pendu lum is swinging towards science. Of boys w h o stay on into the sixth forms of main ta ined

g r a m m a r schools a b o u t 60 pe r cent, now t ake science as the i r m a i n subject. In the direct g ran t g r a m m a r schools the figure is abou t 50 per cent, a n d in the publ ic schools it is over 40 per cent. In m a n y schools to-day the propor t ion of science sixth formers is so h igh that a further increase in their n u m b e r will depend on an increase in t he size of the sixth form as a whole. A t the same t ime -more thought needs t o b e given t o the possibility of reducing early specialisation a n d of forging stronger l inks be tween the sciences and the ar t s .

16. I t mus t also be said tha t some g r a m m a r schools a n d publ ic schools still th ink t o o m u c h in te rms of white-collar jobs for their pupils . They fail fully to imagine the cornucopia of the scientific revolut ion and to p ic ture to themselves the opportuni t ies which a changing a n d expand ing British industry can offer to their pupils dur ing the next fifty years . If ta lent is no t to be wasted, m o r e boys and girls must stay o n a t school till they are eighteen and a i m a t s tudying science or technology a t either a university or a technical college providing advanced courses.

17. Secondary technical schools, which provide a genera l secondary educa­tion with an increasing technical b ias in the la ter years of the course , have an impor tan t pa r t to play in areas where suitable courses are n o t a l ready available in g r a m m a r schools. Propor t ionate ly , indeed, secondary technical schools have the best record of any k ind of school in sending their pupils on to success in technical colleges.

18. T o o many of these schools still select a t thir teen a second layer of ability and p u t their children th rough a two or three year course , often in the premises of a technical college. This must be remedied . T h e secondary technical school of ito-morrow should select at eleven f rom chi ldren of g r a m m a r school cal ibre a n d have bui ldings of its o w n a n d a staff wfaich comibines academic quality and industrial experience. Schools of this k ind can bui ld u p s t rong sixth forms which will provide cand ida tes for universi t ies and for advanced courses a t technical colleges.

19. M a n y secondary technical schools a re gradual ly being t rans formed in this way and o thers a r e being built . Exper ience has a l ready shown tha t these schools can establish a reputa t ion which will b e at t ract ive t o t he ablest children of eleven and their parents . T h e pupi ls in these schools will l ook upon a career in industry as their na tura l goal whether it b e r eached direct or through a universi ty.

20. T h o u g h the g r a m m a r and technical schools take , b road ly speaking , the most able quar te r of the boys and girls f rom pr imary schools there is sub­sitantial talent in t h e secondary m o d e r n schools. F o r example , in 1952-53 out of 2,700 winners of t he Higher Na t iona l Certificate of Mechanica l Engineer ­ing, 23 per cent, h a d been to modern schools. Boys and girls i n m o d e r n schools are beginning to t ake the Genera l Certificate of Educa t ion (Ord inary level) at sixteen, and some transfer to the sixth form of a g r a m m a r school and go on to a university.

21 . Wi th facts such as these in m i n d modern schools a re be ing encouraged to develop courses for their older pupi l s which stir their interest in t he careers a h e a d of them, a n d act, as it were, as br idges between school a n d further educat ion. These courses at tract each year more chi ldren t o s tay o n after fifteen in spi te of the high earnings in juvenile employment . Boys a n d girls w h o stay on at school a r r ive at a technical college much be t te r fitted to profit b y their first course and much m o r e likely to have the bas ic knowledge necessary to proceed to higher levels, I t is also a great saving to the colleges not t o have to teach the i r young students wha t they ought to have learned at school.

. 22. Secondary education will improve as the supply and qualifications of teachers improve. Upon these teachers and their colleagues in t he p r imary schools will largely depend the success of the technical colleges. T o o often in the past, the colleges have been thought of as mainly concerned with giving a second chance to those who missed or were depr ived of opportunit ies a t school. T h e . stronger the schools become, the more confidently will t he technical colleges b e able to set their s tandards high.

Youth Employment Service 23. AH these developments, make, it impor tan t for young people to be well

informed abou t the new opportunit ies opened up by technological advance . A n impor tan t p a r t in this t ask is played by the Y o u t h E m p l o y m e n t Service which is p rov ided toy education authorities, or in some a r ea s by the Ministry of Labour , all under t he general direction of the Centra l Y o u t h E m p l o y m e n t Executive of the Minis t ry of L a b o u r and Nat iona l Service. Th i s service, which has been greatly developed since the war , is in a very good posit ion, in the talks on careers t ha t it arranges in schools and in its individual advisory work, to m a k e known the r ange of openings available and to advise on the ways and m e a n s toy which training for the various occupations can b e o b t a i n e d ; in many cases the service m a y d o the m o s t good by influencing the youngster and his parents in the direction of cont inuing full-time educat ion ra ther than seeking immediate employment .

Technical colleges to-day 24. Technical colleges are concerned with an unlimited r ange of technology.

Beside the wide field covered by mechanical , electrical, civil, aeronaut ical a n d chemical engineering, there are, for example , courses in archi tecture a n d building, textiles, min ing , plastics and m a n y forms of applied physics a n d chemistry. Indeed , students f rom almost every industry can b e found in some technical college.

25. In Eng land and Wales there are abou t 500 technical or commerc ia l establishments varying from large colleges of technology, most ly in L o n d o n and the County Borough, to small technical institutes.* Near ly all a re mainta ined by local educat ion authorities. Though some students at tend as a condi t ion of their employment , for example , because they are apprent ices, mos t of them are volunteers. Some 80 per cent, of t he work is vocat ional and most of i t is part- t ime. T h e fees charged are very low, representing on an average no more than one-fifth of the cost of the course .

26. The re has never been any uniform pat tern of technical educat ion throughout the country. Over the last sixty years or so technical colleges have grown u p on response to local demand, their siting toeing largely dictated by the location of industry. A r emarkab le variety of studies has been organised, from prel iminary courses for boys and girls of fifteen to post -graduate work. Courses at every level are often found in the same technical college. Some of the staff are full-time, many are par t - t ime. Some courses are held in the day, more in the evening. T w o things c o m m o n to most colleges are that they were full soon after they opened and have been burs t ing at the seams ever since.

27. Since 1945, as a result of vigorous efforts by local education authori t ies and industry, more has been done to expand technical education than in any corresponding period. But with demand always running ahead of supply

* There are in addition colleges of art, adult education centres and s o m e 9,000 evening institutes which include a substantial number of students attending for vocational purposes.

t h e results achieved have n o t been apprecia ted as they deserve. T a b l e I shows the growth of the numbers of s tudents a t establ ishments of further educat ion since the war . The figures for 1938 a re also shown for compar ison.

T A B L E I NUMBER OF STUDENTS I N GRANT-AIDED ESTABLISHMENTS

OF FURTHER EDUCATION England and Wales 000's

1954-551937-38 1946-47 Provisional

Full-time 20 45 64

Part-time day 89 200 402

Evening only (estimated) 1,094 1,166 1,575

TOTAL 1,203 1,411 2,041

28. T h e d iagrams and tables be low i l lustrate the pa r t which the technical colleges and other es tabl ishments of (further educat ion now play in t he educat ional system of Eng land a n d Wales . They show the percentage of the popula t ion aged fifteen to twenty, year by year , w h o a re at school or at universities, t raining colleges for teachers , colleges of technology, commerce or ar t , or evening institutes.

T A B L E II

BOYS

Technical, Commercial and Art TeacheTeacherr Colleges and Evening Institutes

AgAgee SchoolSchoolss UniversitieUniversitiess TraininTrainingg TotaTotall CollegeCollegess

Part-time EveningFull-time Day only

20 4-5 0-5 0-9 5-8 8 1 19-8 19 — 2-9 0 1 0-9 8-3 10-2 22-4 18 4-3 1-3 0-1 1 1 11-6 12-8 31-2 17 9-6 .— — 1-2 19-3 20-8 50-9

—16 17-9 1-4 21 1 25-8 66-2 15 33-5 1-3 15-3 25-4 75-5— —

T A B L E HI G I R L S

Technical, Commercial and Art Teacher Colleges and Evening Institutes

Schools Universities TrainingColleges

Part-time EveningFull-time Day only

1-6 1-6 0-4 0-5 8-0 1-2 2-6 0-5 0-8 9-6

2-0 0-7 1-5 0-8 1-7 12-5 7-6 1-5 4-8 19-2

16-4 2-5 5-8 23-0 32-9 2-7 4-7 23-5

cr

29. The British system of technical educat ion is p robab ly more flexible t han any other. Fo r example , in most other countr ies it is very unusua l for anyone leaving school before the age of eighteen to b e able to e m b a r k on a career leading to the highest technological qualifications. T h e following pa rag raphs illustrate the routes by which in Eng land and Wales a student m a y reach the various goals.

The part-time route 30. A boy of fifteen can go to a technical institute for a par t - t ime junior

course of one year which will improve his general educat ion and help h i m to start at sixteen on an industrial apprent iceship or a commercia l t ra ining. A t t ha t stage, joined b y others who have left school a t sixteen or seventeen, he will e m b a r k on a senior course of two or th ree years. Some of these will b e craft courses leading to qualifications prescr ibed by industry, the examina­tions mostly being conducted by the City and Guilds of L o n d o n Insti tute a n d Regional Examin ing Unions closely associated with it.

31 . Paral le l to the craft courses, or following them, come courses a imed a t in termediate qualifications of technician level such as the Ordinary Na t iona l Certificate, cer tain certificates of the City and Guilds of L o n d o n Insti tute, a n d certain qualifications of industrial bodies .

32. A t eighteen or nineteen the advanced stage begins. Unt i l comparat ively recently only a handful , of students straight from school have been entering technical colleges at this point . Most par t - t ime students at technical colleges have left school not later than sixteen and have worked their passage, m a n y by study on one day a week and often one or more evenings as well, a n d many by evening work only, towards professional qualifications in engineering and other subjects. Advanced par t - t ime courses last f rom two to four years and lead for most students to a Higher Na t iona l Certificate, a L o n d o n Universi ty degree, or some other recognised examinat ion . Professional qual i ­fications can be achieved after further s tudy and pract ical experience in industry, so that the qualified technologist emerges at the age of 2 3 - 2 5 .

33. In recent years a growing n u m b e r of short post -graduate courses has been provided for the benefit of scientists and technologists employed in industry who wish to br ing themselves u p to da t e with the latest develop­ments . In 1954 some 900 such courses were organised.

The full-time route 34. Ful l - t ime courses have also been organised in many of the major

colleges. Those for the Ordinary Na t iona l D ip loma provide prel iminary training suitable for entry into industry a t eighteen as a student apprent ice . These have not developed to any great extent because the majori ty of boys and girls who wish to remain in full-t ime educat ion unti l they a r e eighteen prefer to stay at school.

35. T h e courses for the Higher Na t iona l D ip loma , being full-time are much more broadly based t han those for the Highe r Na t iona l Certificate. They have a wider scientific content and normal ly include subjects of a l iberal na ture . Moreover , they often cover t he full academic requirements for exempt ion from the examinat ions of professional bodies, whereas holders of the Higher Nat ional Certificate must spend an addit ional year or two on extra subjects, for example , works organisat ion and adminis t ra t ion, and in some cases further specialised technical study.

36. In addi ton, a number of the major colleges provide full-time courses leading to graduate and post -graduate qualifications. These have h i ther to represented the highest qualifications avai lable to students in technical colleges.

National Colleges 37. Some industries, a l though impor tan t to the nat ional economy, are t o o

small to justify provision for advanced technical studies at more than one centre for each industry. This fact led t he Ministry of Educa t ion soon after the war to a r range wi th six industr ies—foundry ; horology and scientific ins t rument making ; r u b b e r ; leather ; f o o d ; and heat ing, ventilation a n d refrigeration engineering—to provide a na t iona l college for each of them. Selected students are sent full-time by the consti tuent firms, many of w h o m pay the students ' wages during the course, the length of which varies from one to two years . T h e governing bodies , which are mainly representat ive of t he industries concerned, a re independent . The colleges are financed jointly by the Ministry a n d by industry, which has been generous towards them in b o t h finance and gifts of equipment .

38. T h e College of Aeronaut ics a t Cranfield differs in its origin and constitution from the other nat ional colleges. I t was established by the Government following the Fedden Repor t , and the Ministry of Educa t ion became responsible for the adminis t ra t ion. T h e studies are post-graduate , and the governing body includes representatives of the Commonwea l th and Services as well a s industry.

Regional Planning 39. I t was clear as far back as 1925 t h a t the growth of technical colleges

was leading to unnecessary duplicat ion of courses in t h e highly industrialised regions. This was part icularly t rue in Yorkshi re where , on the advice of the then Board of Educa t ion , a Regional Advisory Council , representat ive of b o t h educat ional and industrial interests, was established. Here and in other areas where other types of co-ordinat ing machinery were established much successful planning was done. In post-war condit ions co-ordinat ion was clearly still more desirable and in 1947, nine Regiona l Advisory Counci ls were set up to cover the whole of Eng land . In Wales this function was entrusted to the Welsh Joint Educa t ion Commit tee . T h e Regional Advisory Counci ls serve two ma in p u r p o s e s ; (i) t o br ing educat ion and industry together to find ou t the needs of young workers a n d advise on the provision required, and (ii) to secure reasonable economy of provision. Associated with these Councils a re Regional Academic Boards for ensuring close co-operat ion between the universities and technical colleges in the provision of advanced courses. Ait the centre a Na t iona l Advisory Council on E d u c a ­tion for Industry and Commerce , which is largely representat ive of the regions, advises the Minister on nat ional policy.

40. Much has been done by these bodies to establish good relations between industry and the colleges and to st imulate sound development . They mus t clearly play an even greater par t in the future if courses, especially advanced courses, are to be organised on a s t rong and efficient basis and if adequa te facilities are t o be provided with reasonable economy in buildings a n d teaching staff.

Wales 4 1 . Before the war the provision for technical education in Wales was , by

compar ison with that in England , somewhat meagre . This was a reflection of the tradit ional interest in g r a m m a r school educat ion, seen mainly as a passport to the liberal professions, and of the fact that , in t he past , Welsh industry, which was largely restricted to coal-mining, quarrying, iron, steel and t inplate, offered opportunit ies to relatively small numbers for skilled employment and high qualifications. Even so, the number of young Welsh­men w h o availed themselves of these oppor tuni t ies was insufficient for t he

11

oountry 's needs—they preferred to be t ra ined as teachers, clergymen, adminis­t ra tors , lawyers and doctors , to work in Wales and elsewhere, while the small Welsh demand for skilled engineers and technicians w a s , to some extent, met from other par t s of t h e Uni ted Kingdom.

42. T h e industr ial si tuation has changed considerably during the last generat ion. T h e charac ter of the old-established industr ies h a s been transformed and m a n y new industries have settled in Wales . T h e coal­mining and metal lurgical industries are now m o r e highly mechanised and t h e new factories, l ike their counterpar ts in t he rest of the Uni ted Kingdom, depend on skilled craftsmen, mechanical , electrical, p roduct ion and chemical engineers, on d raugh tsmen a n d scientists for their main tenance and develop­ment . Such a change is equivalent t o a new industr ial revolut ion in t he life of the Principali ty, a n d as such, it consti tutes a chal lenge t o established ways, part icularly in educat ional out look and provisions. Y o u n g workers enter ing Welsh industry a t fifteen to-day need oppor tuni t ies for t raining as craftsmen as never before. Welsh g r a m m a r school pupils are wanted in industr ies tha t did not exist when their fathers were boys . Consequent ly more students mus t be a t t rac ted into advanced courses in technical institutes a n d colleges and into degree courses in appl ied science a t the University of Wales if t he youth of Wales is to equip itself for leadership in the economic life of the Principali ty.

43 . The continuing growth in technical educat ion in recent years is the measure of t h e count ry ' s response to this chal lenge. Since the war full-time students at establ ishments of further educat ion in Wales h a v e increased from 1,500 t o 2,500, par t - t ime day students f rom 8,500 to 21,000 and evening s tudents from 73,000 to 115,000.

44. Dur ing the s ame per iod seventeen new colleges have been completed or pu t under construct ion, while sixteen others have been extended.

45. These facts represent a real achievement in meeting the altered situation. T h e o lder establ ishments are a l so readjust ing their work . F o r example , year by year more g r a m m a r schools a re providing courses wi th a technical b ias and the Welsh Joint Educa t ion Commit tee has correspondingly extended its examinat ion a r rangements to meet their needs and those of the technical institutes a n d colleges as well. It has also provided a forum for discussion and guidance to those local education authori t ies within whose areas the demands for advanced technical education have reached considerable dimensions.

46. This service has been a valuable one because the industrial pat tern of Wales still differs from that of Eng land . The re have been far-reaching changes but Welsh under takings , with one or two notable exceptions, are generally not so large nor so highly concentra ted as their English counter­parts , and the numbers of apprentices employed in separate establishments are comparat ively small . Plans for advanced technical educat ion in Wales must correspond with this situation. They must assume a readiness on the par t of local education authorit ies and industry to co-operate if the best courses at the advanced level are to b e provided for the technical experts of the future. Leaders of the educational and industrial life of the Prin­cipality must increasingly come to regard selected colleges as c o m m o n posses­sions, to be developed to the highest level of academic efficiency in their own fields ; uneconomic and wasteful proliferation of small advanced courses would provide only the second-rate, and would not be good enough as an educat ional support for modern industry.

C H A P T E R I I

T H E R O L E O F T H E U N I V E R S I T I E S

47. In the education of technologists, t he technical colleges are the par tners of the universities. The i r functions are complementa ry and a l though this Pape r is not primari ly concerned with the universit ies, it would be incomplete without some account of the role they play and of their recent development .

48. T h e contr ibut ion of the universities to bo th educat ion and research in advanced technology as well as in pu re science, is fundamenta l to our progress as a country . As explained below, the Government a t tach the greatest impor tance to the development of higher technology in t he universities.

49. In some universities the technological studies a re of a general n a t u r e : in others , they are m o r e closely l inked with the careers avai lable in the region, such as the textile or chemical industries. Invar iab ly , these studies are set against the b road background of fundamenta l science, and specialisa­t ion in technology is often not a t t empted until the pos t -graduate stage. Al though many students work in factories in the vacat ions , at most universities they gain their first real experience of industry after g radua t ion or after a period of pos t -graduate study or research.

50. T h e universities have greatly expanded since the war , and this expan­sion has been mainly on the scientific side. In 1946 the Commit tee on Scientific Manpower (Cmd. 6824) r ecommended tha t t he university ou tpu t of scientists and technologists should be doubled . T h e universities responded to this call and accepted a heavy degree of overcrowding to meet the pent up demand of those whose university careers h a d been interrupted or post­poned owing to the war . T h e n u m b e r of full-time university students of science and technology rose from 12,949 in 1938-39 t o 27,659 in 1950-51, an increase of 121 per cent. Whi le this p e a k was n o t wholly main ta ined when the ex-service demand fell off, the reduct ion in numbers was surprisingly small, and they are now rising again. I n t he cur rent session full-time students of science and technology have reached a new peak of 29,013, 132 per cent, above the 1938-39 figure. They now represent 34J per cent, of the university student popula t ion , as against 26 pe r cent, in 1938-39. T h e numbers obtaining first degrees in science and technology is n o w just over 6,000. Of these pure science accounts for 4,200, many of w h o m ultimately enter industry, and technology for about 1,850. There are , in addit ion, some 450 students w h o obta in d ip lomas in technology.

5 1 . Dur ing the whole of the per iod since the war , bui ldings for teaching and research in science and technology have received high priority in the allocation of grants by the Universi ty Gran t s Commit tee towards capi tal expenditure by the universities.

52. Of £24^ mill ion spent or commit ted since the w a r on major bui lding schemes (£50,000 or more) from moneys at the free disposal of the University Grants Commit tee , £7f million was allocated to buildings of interest to all faculties (halls of residence, s tudent amenit ies , l ibraries, etc.) and £16^ million to buildings for teaching and research. Of this £16J mil l ion, about 84 per cent, went to science in its var ious forms including technology and medicine. These figures do not include the special allocations for technology referred to be low: nor do they include the extension of the Manches ter College of Technology, costing about t\\ mill ion, which has been financed by loans raised by the Corpora t ion of Manchester .

m 53 . T h e Government decided tha t a still further effort was needed to extend

the supply of university t ra ined technologists and in 1953 they announced their intention to unde r t ake a massive expansion of t he Imper ia l College of Science and Technology (University of London) t o enab le its s tudent numbers to b e increased from 1,650 to 3,000: they have already increased by abou t a quarter . This project will ul t imately cost a b o u t £15 mill ion. A further p rog ramme of development outside L o n d o n was announced o n the 7th December , 1954. Th i s includes major developments a t Glasgow, Manchester , Leeds and B i rmingham ; schemes o n a fairly la rge scale at Cambr idge a n d Sheffield ; and specialised developments at o ther universities, financed in some cases b y Treasury grant and in others by industry, at Ed inburgh , Bristol, Newcast le u p o n Tyne , Not t ingham, Sou thampton and Swansea. T h e developments at Glasgow and Manches ter are based o n the Colleges of Technology as well as on the universities. T h e capi tal grants required to finance these developments will a m o u n t t o a b o u t £5 mill ion and £ 1 ^ mill ion for equipment . These grants have been supplemented on a considerable scale by benefactions from industry of b o t h money and equipment .

54. Most of the bui lding projects in the p r o g r a m m e outl ined in the previous pa ragraph are already unde r construction a n d all will have been started by 1957, the final year of t he present university qu inquennium, which began in 1952. T h e Universities a r e now formulat ing their p lans for further develop­ments to be put in h a n d during the qu inquenn ium 1957-62. T h e university Grants Commit tee , w h o will consider these proposals , will then m a k e recommendat ions t o the Government dur ing the present year .

C H A P T E R I I I

T H E P L A N F O R T H E T E C H N I C A L C O L L E G E S O F E N G L A N D A N D W A L E S

55. Agains t the background described in Chapte r I I the Government have decided on a further expansion of technical colleges. F o r this purpose they propose to pu t in h a n d immediately a five-year p r o g r a m m e of development related as closely as can b e to the most urgent demands and the extent of available resources. T h e objectives during this period a re to increase by about a half the ou tpu t of students from advanced courses at technical colleges and, as pa r t of a propor t iona te increase at t h e lower levels, to double the numbers released by their employers for par t - t ime courses during the day. This will call for building to be started in the period 1956-61 to the value of about £70 million. When these objectives are secured, the Government will consider wha t further measures are needed. T h e details of the five-year plan are described below.

T E C H N O L O G I S T S

56. The mixture of earning and learning m a d e possible by technical colleges continues to demonst ra te its success. The students have proved their wor th in practice and employers want more of them. T h e present annual output from advanced courses at technical colleges in Eng land and Wales

( including roughly 1,000 w h o gain degrees in science and abou t 500 w h o ga in degrees in technology) is a b o u t 9,500. T h e p ropor t ion of these w h o ult imately become technologists in the sense in which the t e rm is used in this Pape r (see page 1) is n o t precisely k n o w n , b u t is p robab ly a b o u t o n e half. T h e Government n o w p r o p o s e to ra ise t he capaci ty of advanced courses at technical colleges as soon as poss ible from 9,500 to abou t 15,000.

Advanced full-time and sandwich courses 57. A s technologies g row m o r e complex a n d the need for versatility

increases, the strain of reach ing these h igh qualifications b y evening w o r k or b y studies on one or two days a week becomes m o r e severe. T h e r e will b e many , especially those w h o ambi t ions d o n o t extend beyond the H ighe r Na t iona l Certificate, w h o will wish or will b e obliged by c i rcumstances t o cont inue to t ake par t - t ime courses . B u t the G o v e r n m e n t bel ieve tha t for the highest technological qualifications sandwich courses will b e c o m e m o r e a n d m o r e appropr ia te . These a r e courses last ing four or five years a n d involving a l ternate per iods , usual ly of three t o six mon ths , of theoret ical educa t ion in a technical college a n d specially designed pract ica l t ra in ing in industry.

58. These advanced courses will suit the ab le worke r w h o h a s a l ready h a d experience in industry and should also at t ract a n increasing n u m b e r of boys a n d girls w h o , when they leave school a t eighteen, feel the u rge to s tar t their careers as soon as possible .

59. T h e Nat iona l Advisory Counc i l on E d u c a t i o n for Indust ry a n d C o m m e r c e u n d e r the c h a i r m a n s h i p of L i e u t - G e n e r a l Sir R o n a l d Weeks h a s very recently submit ted to t he Minis ter of Educa t ion a r epor t on sandwich courses. Th i s repor t h a s been p repa red after consul ta t ion wi th t he Fede ra t i on of Bri t ish Industr ies , t he Na t iona l U n i o n of Manufac tu re r s , the Associa t ion of C h a m b e r s of Commerce , t he T rades Un ion Congress a n d the associat ions of local educat ion author i t ies a n d teachers , a n d all these bodies h a v e expressed their general suppor t for the p roposa l s in it. I t is r ep roduced as A p p e n d i x B to this Pape r . T h e Gove rnmen t fully endorse this repor t . Sandwich courses have been or are be ing developed for the bui ld ing, chemical , electrical, mechanical engineering, mining and ra i lway industr ies a n d similar a r rangements for other industr ies will b e vigorously encouraged.

60. Sandwich courses at the highest level will, n o doub t , b e eligible for the new A w a r d to be given by the Na t iona l Counci l for Technologica l A w a r d s under the cha i rmansh ip of L o r d Hives . This Counci l has been set u p o n the r ecommenda t ion of the Na t iona l Advisory Counci l on Educa t ion for Indus t ry a n d Commerce . A t the momen t , the only na t iona l qualification of sufficiently h igh level for many of the best s tudents a t tending technical colleges is the L o n d o n Ex te rna l Degree. This suffers from t h e d isadvantages inherent in external control and is l imited to a few technologies. I t was therefore con­sidered t o be unsui table as a p e r m a n e n t qualification for colleges of advanced technology. I n the Na t iona l Advisory Counci l ' s view the best way of over­coming the difficulty was to create a new qualification of h igh s tanding which would allow the colleges f reedom to p lan their own courses in consul ta t ion with industry and the professional bodies a n d to conduc t their own examina ­t ions. T h e Nat iona l Counci l for Technologica l A w a r d s , which is an indepen­dent body , was recently established to create and adminis ter this new qualifi­cat ion and to satisfy itself t ha t condi t ions of teaching, and the syllabuses a n d examinat ions , a re satisfactory. Th i s is a vital t a s k : the w o r k of the Counci l will do m u c h t o determine the scope a n d quali ty of advanced technological studies in the next generat ion.

1:5

A i d to students 6 1 . These developments mus t be b a c k e d by an adequa te system of finan­

cial aid. F o r those a l reday employed in industry Technica l State Scholar­ships a r e ava i lab le to he lp s tudents of outs tanding intellectual abili ty to pursue honour s degree courses a t universit ies or courses of equivalent s tand­ing elsewhere. Students p ropos ing to a t tend courses leading to a Tech­nological A w a r d will, therefore, be eligible for Technical State Scholarships a n d the n u m b e r will be raised as these courses develop.

62. I n order to encourage boys and girls to enter these courses s t raight f rom school , t he Gove rnmen t p r o p o s e in future to allow ord inary State Scholarships awarded on the results of the Genera l Certificate of Educa t ion E x a m i n a t i o n to be held no t only for honou r s courses a t universit ies, bu t also for courses leading to a Technologica l A w a r d .

6 3 . Loca l educa t ion authori t ies a l ready h a v e power to assist s tudents a t such courses and , in view of t h e academic level of these studies, author i t ies a re being a sked to give such ass is tance in the form of Major A w a r d s , i.e., a t ra tes equivalent t o those pa id to university s tudents .

64. T h e G o v e r n m e n t are g lad to no t e tha t many of t he s tudents now a t tending advanced sandwich courses are assisted generously by their employers . Enl igh tened firms pay the college fees and the students ' wages dur ing studies, t h e latter a t a ra te which wou ld be ea rned if the s tudents were work ing in industry. This a r r a n g e m e n t at t racts s tudents to the courses , s t imulates thei r sense of loyalty t o t h e firms a n d strengthens t he firms' ties wi th t he colleges. Th i s is a hea l thy deve lopment which the Gove rnmen t have encouraged by al lowing the p a y m e n t of fees to count as a business expense for income t ax purposes , a n d they h o p e t o see m o r e firms adopt ing this practice.,

Colleges of Advanced Technology 65. T h e Gove rnmen t consider tha t the bu lk of full-time or sandwich courses

should be carr ied on in colleges which concent ra te o n advanced courses of technological level.

66. Teache r s c a p a b l e of t ak ing charge of such courses a r e scarce a n d the equ ipment they need is often expensive. Moreover , an advanced course in one technology often canno t be efficient unless allied technologies a re s tudied to a s imilar level in t h e same college. T h e college must also be strong in the appropr ia te fundamenta l sciences. A n d oppor tuni t ies for research are essen­t ial in order to p romote fully effective co-opera t ion between industry and the staff of the technical college.

67. I n 1952 a special r a t e of 75 per cent, g ran t was in t roduced to foster t h e deve lopment of technical colleges in which a large p ropor t ion of the w o r k would consist of advanced work a n d research in technology including courses in advanced technology a t g r a d u a t e a n d pos t -graduate levels.

68. T h e following twenty-four* colleges a t present receive 75 per cent, g ran t for cer ta in of their advanced w o r k : —

B i r m i n g h a m College of Technology. Bradford Technica l College.

Brighton Technica l College. .

* The Manchester College of Technology, which has been receiving 75 per cent, grant, has now been granted a Royal Charter and will come under the aegis of the University Grants Committee. It is therefore not included in the list.

v

Huddersf ield Technica l College.

Leicester College of Technology and Commerce .

Liverpool College of Building.

L o n d o n —Bat tersea Polytechnic.

L a m b e t h , Br ix ton L.C.C. School of Bui lding.

Chelsea Polytechnic .

Finsbury , N o r t h a m p t o n Polytechnic.

Isl ington, N o r t h e r n Polytechnic

St. Mary l ebone , T h e Polytechnic.

City, Sir J o h n Cass College.

Southwark , Bo rough Polytechnic.

Woolwich Polytechnic .

Middlesex, A c t o n Technica l College. No t t i ngham a n d Distr ict Technical College. Salford, R o y a l Technica l College. S toke-on-Trent , N o r t h Staffordshire Technical College. Sunder land Techn ica l College. Warwicksh i re , R u g b y College of Technology a n d Arts .

and in W a l e s : — Cardiff College of Technology a n d Commerce .

Treforest , G l a m o r g a n Technical College.

69. T h e Gove rnmen t now wish to see t h e p ropor t ion of advanced w o r k a t these colleges vigorously increased. T h e Minister of Educa t ion will discuss for thwith wi th the local educat ion authori t ies concerned how this can b e d o n e within the f ramework of the bui lding p r o g r a m m e announced in this Paper . I n addi t ion there may be a few other colleges which, because of developments n o w in t ra in or the movemen t of industry, m a y qualify for 75 pe r cent, grant .

70. T h e building u p of colleges of advanced technology will n o t prevent the development elsewhere in sui table cases of advanced courses, par t icular ly those of a par t - t ime na tu re . Indeed , par t - t ime advanced courses are a l ready provided in some 150 local colleges conveniently p laced for the s tudents a n d par t - t ime staff who w o r k in industry. These courses m a k e a vital cont r ibu­t ion to the total ou tpu t of technologists, especially by the Higher Na t iona l Certificate rou te , a n d they will b e expected to cont inue and develop as long as they are efficient a n d can a t t ract enough students .

7 1 . The re are those w h o argue that a college of advanced technology canno t be successfully adminis tered within the f ramework of local govern­ment . T h e Gove rnmen t d o not accept this. Loca l authori t ies t ake great p r ide in such colleges a n d often have been willing to find more money for t h e m than the pressure on na t iona l resources has al lowed t h e m to spend. T o remove t h e m f rom local control against the wishes of the authori t ies could be justified nei ther by past experience no r by the h o p e of bet ter results f rom a more centra l control . This s ta tement is, however , subject t o one qualif icat ion: the Governmen t do rely on the local authori t ies t o w o r k

effectively together in p lann ing the provis ion of courses and—just as impor­tan t—in m a k i n g it possible for s tudents , whether they live in their own o r ano ther local author i ty ' s area , to a t tend courses which best suit their needs .

72. Colleges of advanced technology must also have the independence appropr i a t e to the academic level of their work. Some local authori t ies h a v e pointed the way by establishing s trong governing bodies widely representat ive of industry a n d with power to spend within the heads of annua l est imates approved by the author i ty . T h e Minis ter is taking steps in consultat ion wi th the local educa t ion authori t ies concerned to ensure the genera l adopt ion of this policy for all colleges of advanced technology. H e also proposes t o review the accommoda t ion a n d equ ipmen t of each such college a n d to satisfy himself t ha t the staff a re adequate ly qualified and have appropr i a t e f reedom to p lan their own courses .

73 . Wi th in the five-year p r o g r a m m e of capital deve lopment announced in this P a p e r the colleges of advanced technology will be expected to m a k e considerable progress in increasing their volume of advanced work , especially by means of full-time a n d sandwich courses, and in divesting themselves of work below the advanced level. T h e y will be expected, too , to develop a substant ia l a m o u n t of research , par t icular ly research sponsored by industry, and , whe re appropr ia t e , to init iate pos t -graduate studies. They should a l so encourage their staff t o u n d e r t a k e a r easonab le a m o u n t of consult ing work .

74. F o r all this to b e d o n e the scale of staffing wil l h a v e t o b e m o r e generous t h a n it is in some cases at present . Th i s m u s t b e faced, for these colleges a r e of crucial impor t ance to t h e future of technological educat ion in th is country .

75 . These and all o ther colleges engaged o n advanced w o r k will b e expected t o deve lop close contacts wi th the appropr ia te universities. This is done today b o t h direct and th rough t h e Regional A c a d e m i c Boa rds for Technical Educa t ion on wh ich the universities^ the local educa t ion authori t ies , the technical colleges a n d industry a r e represented. I t seems p robab l e t ha t the resources of b o t h universit ies a n d colleges could be co-ord ina ted to greater effect t h a n is somet imes t he case at present .

T E C H N I C I A N S A N D C R A F T S M E N

76. T h e condi t ions which d e m a n d an increase in technologists apply a lso to technicians . A s m a n y as five or six technicians may b e requi red t o every technologist . T h e Minis te r of L a b o u r a n d Nat iona l Service has a l ready asked industry, t h rough his N a t i o n a l Jo in t Advisory Counci l , to consider future needs for technicians a n d craftsmen a n d how to mee t them.

7 7 : T h e t radi t ional m e t h o d of t r a in ing technicians a n d craftsmen in this country is appren t icesh ip , of which the characterist ic feature is that t he apprent ice receives pract ical t ra in ing in employment for a per iod of years . Versati l i ty and grasp of principles are indispensable for enabling those w h o a re be ing t ra ined today to k e e p up- to-date and p lay their p a r t effectively in the condi t ions of the future. In view of this employers in mos t industries which have adopted apprent icesh ip schemes have agreed t o release thei r apprent ices for one day a week for a t tendance at technical classes where facilities exist.

78 . Since the war the re has been a grea t increase in the use m a d e of such facilities, b u t t h e r e is cer ta inly scope for more . T a b l e I V shows the wide var ia t ions in the prac t ice of day release in different industries.

EDUCATIONAL YEAR 1 9 5 3 - 5 4

STUDENTS " RELEASED " FROM INDUSTRY Students aged under 18 years released by their employers to attend courses for part-time

education shown as a percentage of the estimated number aged under 18 years who are insured under the National Insurance Acts.

England and Wales'

Boys Girls

Numbers Numbers Numbers NumbersEstimated EstimatedIndustryIndustrytt numbers released released numbers released released

by as per by as perinsured insuredemployers cent, of employers cent, ofat end at endduring numbers during numbersof May* of May* year insured year insured

1954 1 9 5 3 - 5 4 1954 1954 1 9 5 3 - 5 4 1954

Engineering, Shipbuilding and Electrical Goods ... 7 7 , 3 3 0 69 ,203 9 0 3 2 , 9 8 0 4 ,073 12

Mining and QuarryingPublic Administration and

37 ,560 20 ,807 55 1 ,420 4 3 3

Defence 10 ,050 5,495 55 11 ,970 6,485 5 4 Building and Contracting... Chemicals and Allied Trades

67 ,670 8 ,140

30 ,216 3 ,220

4 5 4 0

4 , 4 8 0 13 ,650

8 4 1,725

2 13

Gas, Electricity and Water Supply

Paper and PrintingProfessional Services

6 ,830 19 ,620 12 ,730

2 ,503 6 ,455 3,371

37 33 27

2 , 8 2 0 2 6 , 1 9 0 3 2 , 3 9 0

391 7 8 6

11,007

1 4 3

3 4 Transport and Communica­

tions ... Metal Manufacture Other Manufacturing Indus­

tries

4 0 , 3 7 0 16 ,230

6 ,150

6 ,679 2 , 5 1 6

896

. 17 16

15

14 ,490 5 ,250

11 ,700

2 ,620 368

805

18 7

ClothingFood, Drink and Tobacco Textiles

12 ,440 2 1 , 5 8 0 17 ,880

1,706 2 ,450 1,846

1 4 11 10

6 5 , 6 5 0 4 0 , 0 1 0 5 2 , 6 4 0

1,498 3 ,253 1,786

.j ii 28 3

: Precision Instruments,

Jewellery, etc. Manufacturers of Wood and

5,360 4 8 2 f

9 -.( 5 ,190 4 5 1

Cork Vehicles Treatment of Non-Metal­

20 ,260 4 8 , 9 8 0

1,184 2 , 9 1 6

6 6

6 ,070 14 ,570

3 6 149

1 1

liferous Mining Products other than coal

Distributive Trades Leather, Leather Goods and

Fur Miscellaneous Services (in­

cluding Entertainment)... Agriculture, Forestry and

FishingInsurance, Banking and

' Finance Metal Goods not elsewhere

11 ,800 76 ,360

2 ,340

19 ,060

4 6 , 6 1 0

7 ,240

584 3 ,025

95

503

574

- 7

4

4

3 j i

1

1

8 ,300 163 ,340

3 ,250

56 ,820

8 ,760

19 ,510

181 5 ,965

2 8

1;593

58

41

. 2 4

....,w 1

1

specified 17 ,410 163 1 15 ,550 468 3

TOTAL 610 ,400 166,896 2 7 617 ,000 . 43 ,488 . 7

* Figures supplied by Ministry of Labour and National Service. f Industries classified in accordance with the Standard Industrial Classification.

79. Technica l educa t ion , essential as it is, is a lways regarded as an adjunct to , a n d no t a substi tute for, pract ica l t ra in ing on the j o b . Indust ry , therefore, m u s t p lay the leading par t in any increased ou tpu t of craftsmen, but the Gove rnmen t will be ready to do its share in providing the addi t ional facilities for technical educat ion which may b e requi red bo th to ma tch any rise in n u m b e r s as well as to meet any call for m o r e intensive technical educat ion of apprent ices .

80. T h e terms of apprent iceship a n d educa t ion should be adjusted to suit changing needs . F o r example , it is undes i rab le tha t rigid apprent iceship age l imits should prevent the comple t ion of a pre-apprent iceship full-time course w h e r e this is found to p rov ide a useful p repa ra t ion for a young person w ho in tends to b e c o m e a skilled craf t sman b u t w h o would not finish the course unti l after his s ixteenth b i r thday . A t the o the r end, t he wi thdrawal of the privilege of day release at t h e age of eighteen, which somet imes occurs in the midd le of an educat ional year , d i scourages bo th s tudents a n d colleges.

Wastage 8 1 . Serious wastage occurs at p resen t in courses for technicians and crafts­

men . I n m a n y courses only one -qua r t e r of those who start r each and succeed in t h e examina t ion which comes a t t h e e n d of it.

82. Mos t of the was tage takes p lace a t the age of a b o u t sixteen. T h e m a i n reasons for it a re re l iance on evening classes, the need to work overt ime, be ing away o n a job , shift work , t ravel l ing difficulties, i l l-health, a change to ano ther job , h o m e condi t ions which m a k e study there impossible, or lack of encouragement f rom the employer . Some of these are i r remediable , but the present ra te of was tage can b e r educed by greater unders tanding on the par t of paren ts and employers , by be t te r selection and especially by the substi tut ion of par t - t ime day for evening classes.

83 . I t is no t a lways easy to judge whe the r a boy or girl of fifteen o r sixteen will b e able to m a k e a success of a par t icular course and it is h u m a n to err on t h e s ide of generosi ty. Y o u n g peop l e want t o feel tha t they can go far. B u t it is a mis taken k indness to admi t t hem to courses for which their abili ty is clearly inadequa te . T h e t empta t ion t o d o this is less where there is a system of easy transfer u p w a r d s f rom one grade of course to another .

84. Exper ience shows tha t was tage f rom par t - t ime day courses, especially the large majori ty which are a t t ended a s par t of a formal apprent iceship t ra in ing, is m u c h less t h a n from evening classes. T h e local educat ion au tho­rit ies a n d indus t ry will therefore b e u rged t o enab le more a n d more boys a n d girls t o s tudy dur ing the day ins tead of in t he evening. A t technician level it m a y well be advan tageous to p rov ide some of these day-t ime classes in the shape" of sandwich courses as r e c o m m e n d e d in t he r epor t at Append ix B to this Pape r .

85. T a b l e I V shows t h e n u m b e r of boys and girls unde r eighteen released by their employers dur ing the day in 1953-54. In t ha t yea r the n u m b e r of s tudents of all ages re leased dur ing the day was 326,000. I n 1954-55 th is n u m b e r rose to 355,000. T h e G o v e r n m e n t s a im now is to see this last figure doub led .

Refresher courses 86. A s industr ia l techniques deve lop it will b e impor t an t to provide oppor ­

tunit ies for workers in mid-career t o b r ing themselves u p to da te . Tra in ing in n e w skills will r emain the responsibi l i ty of indus t ry , bu t it will b e for t h e technical colleges to provide short courses designed to explain the principles involved.

- T H E F U R T H E R E D U C A T I O N O F G I R L S

87. Gir ls a re a m a t c h for boys a t school . They d o a t least as well in the selection at eleven p lus and in most secondary school examina t ions . Bu t once they leave school far fewer girls con t inue their educat ion. T h e only exception is that twice as many girls as boys t ake full-time courses in further educa t ion between the ages of fifteen and eighteen, bu t the n u m b e r s involved a r e very small . T h e picture is qu i te different for par t - t ime courses , for which four t imes as many boys as girls are released. A m o n g girls of eighteen only one in five pursues any form of educa t ion . H o w unsatisfactory these figures a re can b e seen aga ins t the fact tha t half the girls and w o m e n in the count ry between the ages of fifteen a n d thirty-five are " gainfully o c c u p i e d " . H u n d r e d s of thousands of these young women are n o t m a k i n g the best use of their talents because they s topped their educat ion w h e n they left school .

88. A great many girls d o not see t he point of further educa t ion once they have got a job . The i r hopes a r e na tura l ly b e n t on mar r i age a n d they fear pe rhaps—though there is m u c h experience to prove them wrong—tha t by aiming at a certificate they may miss a husband .

89. Employe r s , finding tha t m a n y girls mar ry early a n d give u p their jobs , often th ink it no t wor th while to he lp t h e girls who c o m e to t h e m from school to cont inue their educat ion. W e find, for example , tha t only one girl in twenty-five in the distr ibutive t rades , which employ over a qua r t e r of the girls in work , is released for a day- t ime course . I n short , so m a n y girls leave school with the idea tha t whatever job they t a k e they a re only filling in t ime till they get mar r i ed that the d e m a n d for their fur ther educa t ion is very m u c h smaller t han it ough t to be .

90. A change of out look is needed, no t because m o r e girls a n d w o m e n should b e pe r suaded to g o out to work , b u t because fur ther educa t ion will enable the great number w h o do earn their l iving to qualify for bet ter jobs and to gain the m a x i m u m pleasure and profit f rom their w o r k ; and , cont rary to old-fashioned ideas, such further educa t ion is no t wasted if a girl mar r ies and exchanges a career outside the h o m e for one wi thin it. F a r m o r e often than not the knowledge a n d exper ience tha t comes f rom studying for a be t te r job helps her to bui ld her own family on foundat ions of c o m m o n interests and unders tanding.

91 . A p a r t from teaching, the most popu l a r courses with girls cover such subjects as nurs ing, commerc ia l and secretarial work , commerc ia l a n d industr ial design, art , the needle t rades , ca ter ing, cookery a n d domest ic subjects. Fa i r number s a re taking courses in scientific subjects, b u t t he re is no doub t many more could take u p science and wou ld find openings for most successful careers . T h e p rob l em is how to increase the n u m b e r of girls asking for science courses, and the weakness he re is in t h e secondary schools, where there is a shor tage of teachers of ma themat i c s a n d science more p ronounced than in boys ' schools. T h e best po in t to a t tack this p rob lem mus t . be in the girls ' g r a m m a r schools where the H e a d could influence m o r e girls, who have decided to t ake u p teaching, to choose science or ma themat i c s as their special subject. Only small n u m b e r s of girls at present decide to study science or mathemat ics at the universit ies or t ra in ing colleges. I t is in the na t ional interest tha t more should be encouraged to do so.

92. W e do not know the precise extent of the reserve of ta lent a m o n g our young people , which waits t o b e developed by further educat ion ; bu t it is safe to say tha t it is greater among the girls t h a n the boys . As , however , the ambi t ion to mar ry will very rightly cont inue to be u p p e r m o s t in the thoughts

of girls, progress in recrui t ing more girls a n d w o m e n for courses in technical colleges depends on their recognit ion t ha t further educa t ion will he lp and no t h inder the prospects of a happy mar r ied life.

T H E P R O G R A M M E O F C A P I T A L D E V E L O P M E N T

93. T h e bui lding p r o g r a m m e for technical colleges for 1956-57 is p lanned to reach abou t £9 mill ion. T h o u g h this is £2 mil l ion larger than the 1955-56 p r o g r a m m e a n d near ly £4 million larger t h a n the 1954-55 p r o g r a m m e , it is a good deal less than local educat ion authori t ies h a v e asked for. T h e Govern­ment propose to step the p r o g r a m m e u p . T h e ra te of t h e increase will be decided from t ime to t ime, [in the light of economic c i rcumstances a n d progress wi th the p r o g r a m m e ] , b u t the general in tent ion is t o s tar t £70 mil l ion w or th of work within a per iod of five years , i.e., over the years 1956-57 to 1960-61 inclusive. These projects a re est imated to requi re the expendi tu re of a further £15 mill ion for equipment .

94. F o r projects such as technical colleges, which a r e often large and always complex , the present system of compi l ing annua l p r o g r a m m e s only abou t twelve mon ths ahead of the beginning of the year in which the projects a r e due to be started is inadequate . In o rde r to give authori t ies longer notice, the Minister of Educa t ion will approve this spr ing a p r o g r a m m e of £15 million for 1957-58 and a [provisional] p rog ramme, also of £15 mil l ion, for 1958-59. T h u s , taking in to account t he p r o g r a m m e of £9 mil l ion a l ready approved for 1956-57, the Government ' s proposals provide for a to ta l of £39 mill ion wor th of w o r k to be s tar ted dur ing the first three years of the five-year per iod.

95. W h e n the p r o g r a m m e for 1957-58 a n d the [provisional] p r o g r a m m e for 1958-59 have been approved , the Minister will invite advance proposals for 19.59-60 a n d 1960-61 with a view t o encourag ing author i t ies to proceed with the p lanning of at least the larger projects which should b e started in those years . T h e 1959-60 p r o g r a m m e as a whole will be approved no t later t h a n the spring of 1957.

96. O u r best post-war schools have b e c o m e famous t h r o u g h o u t the wor ld because they combine low cost with high qual i ty of design, construct ion and finish. T h e lessons which have been learned in school bu i ld ing will be applied to technical colleges. F i n e college bui ldings can i l lustrate , as noth ing else can , the confidence in the future which inspires the expans ion of technical educat ion . T h e Governmen t h o p e tha t in view of the impor t ance of these projects local authori t ies will be careful t o choose good archi tects whether from the i r own staff or from those in pr iva te practice. T h e y h o p e t o o t ha t author i t ies will insist on adequa te briefing a n d p lanning before bui ld ing begins a n d tha t architects a n d contractors will combine to show w h a t efficient t eam­work can achieve.

97. A technical college is m u c h m o r e t han a collection of workshops , labora­tories a n d classrooms. T h e r e must be facilities for food, recreat ion a n d social life, and at some colleges of advanced technology hostel accommoda t ion will b e requi red . I t is hoped tha t industries for which courses leading to t he new; technological a w a r d have been a r ranged will he lp t o p rov ide hostels for their employees.

98. A t the lower levels many more bui ldings for technical educat ion will b e requi red close to t he homes or work of t he young people concerned. Loca l colleges will b e needed b o t h t o relieve t he colleges of advanced tech­nology of their less advanced work and to p rov ide a locat ion for the day- t ime courses which will b e subst i tuted for some of the evening classes a t secondary schools.

T H E S U P P L Y O F T E A C H E R S

99. T h e r e are at present some 40,000 par t - t ime and a b o u t 9,000 full- t ime teachers in technical colleges. These figures show the dependence of the colleges on par t - t ime teachers. A b o u t 9,500 of t h e m are school teachers w h o teach in technical colleges in the evening. Mos t of the rest are d r a w n from indust ry a n d c o m m e r c e on account of their special qualifications a n d experience. Some are released by their employers to t each par t - t ime day s tudents . M a n y teach classes in their spare t ime.

100. A considerable n u m b e r of the full-time teachers are university g radu­ates wi th industr ia l experience. Others have technician or craft qualifications. M a n y come from the r a n k s of the p a r t - t i m e : they acqui re a liking for teach­ing when they are given cha rge of pa r t - t ime classes a n d then turn over t o full-time service as the oppor tuni ty arises. Indeed teachers recrui ted in this fashion are often a m o n g the best. Such transfers from industry by m e n in mid-career a re an impor tan t source of strength to the technica l colleges.

101. T o achieve the objectives set out in this P a p e r m a n y more: teachers will b e required . T h e Gove rnmen t h o p e tha t industry will be ready to release yet m o r e of its employees for par t - t ime teaching dur ing the day, so t ha t its apprent ices may be given the m o r e th rough g round ing which m o d e r n condi t ions require .

102. T h e supply of full-time teachers has recently been growing a t t h e very satisfactory ra te of 700 to 800 a year . Loca l educa t ion authori t ies have a subs tant ia l measu re of discret ion over salaries for technical college staffs a n d by offering the r ight condi t ions of service they should be able to a t t rac t a reasonable share of the avai lable technical manpower .

103. T h e success of our p lans depends as much on qual i ty of teaching as o n n u m b e r s . In improving quali ty t ra ining can p lay an i m p o r t a n t par t . Since 1945 t ra ining colleges for technical teachers , m a i n l y for ful l- t ime teachers , have been establ ished in L o n d o n and a t Bol ton a n d Huddersf ie ld. T h e Minis t ry of Educa t ion , local educat ion author i t ies and Reg iona l Advisory Counci ls run m a n y short courses for pa r t - t ime teachers and a n u m b e r of wel l -known firms have co-opera ted in this work , lending staff a n d lecturers for the courses and giving t h e teachers oppor tun i t i es to k e e p abreas t of industr ia l developments . T h e professional inst i tut ions, which h a v e d o n e so m u c h t o raise s t andards in technical educat ion, have a l so he lped by organis ­ing conferences for teachers on m o d e r n methods in teaching and indus t r ia l practice.

104. T h e Gove rnmen t h o p e to see m o r e and more teachers tak ing advan tage of these facilities and as the supply of teachers improves it will be possible for increasing n u m b e r s to b e released by local educa t ion authori t ies for refresher experience in industry . T h i s experience is inva luable and the p r a c ­tice should b e encouraged to the fullest extent possible.

T E C H N I C A L L I T E R A T U R E

105. Every technical college should have a l ibrary wi th adequa te supplies of technical books and journa l s . T h e l ibrary can play an impor t an t p a r t in the genera l life of the college, a n d especially in t he deve lopment of its advanced work a n d in t ra in ing s tudents in methods of handl ing technical l i terature. Its first duty is t o the staff and students of the college. I t can also, however , give va luable service by mak ing its resources ava i lab le t o local indust ry a n d by acting as a cent re for the supply of technical in forma­tion a n d the exchange of technical ideas. I n this way the l ibrary c a n m a k e some re tu rn for the release of par t - t ime teachers f rom indust ry , which is so

vital to the G o v e r n m e n f s plans . F o r these reasons every technical college l ibrary should have a g ran t large enough to enable its acquisit ion of books and periodicals to keep pace with technical developments .

106. The re should also be as much co-operat ion as possible between college, public and other l ibraries at local , regional a n d nat ional levels. Th i s will m a k e easier the in terchange of technical mater ia l and information, which is particularly desirable in view of the high cost of many technical books .

C H A P T E R IV

S C O T L A N D

T H E S T R U C T U R E O F T E C H N I C A L E D U C A T I O N I N S C O T L A N D

107. W h a t is said in the in t roduct ion to this Pape r on the need for a n d the a ims of technical educat ion a n d on the distinguishing features of the form tha t kind of educat ion takes in Bri ta in , applies to Scot land no less t h a n to E n g l a n d and Wales . In other ways , t oo , technical educat ion in b o t h countr ies has m u c h in c o m m o n . In bo th , boys leaving school at fifteen can pursue their studies par t - t ime r ight u p to an advanced s t andard c o m p a r a b l e wi th tha t of a university degree. T h o s e comple t ing a full secondary school course a t seventeen or eighteen c a n enter t h e par t - t ime courses at technical colleges a t a higher level, or can en te r o n full-time courses for a degree o r c o m p a r a b l e award . Aga in , the par t - t ime qualifications which a re so impor t an t a feature of technical educa t ion—the Na t iona l Certificates and the awards of the City and Gui lds of L o n d o n Ins t i tu te—are t he same in b o t h countr ies . Bu t there has been a considerable difference in the evolut ion of the s t ructure within which technical educat ion is given in t h e two countr ies . After a shor t survey of secondary educat ion as the foundat ion of tha t s t ructure, this chap te r describes its development in Scotland a n d the G o v e r n m e n f s proposals for carrying forward tha t development to k e e p pace with the needs of the new industr ia l age.

S E C O N D A R Y E D U C A T I O N

108. Pupils a r e al located to secondary courses, usually between the ages 1 1 ^ and 12^ according to their fitness to profit f rom them, bu t may be transferred to ano ther course later if necessary. Courses a r e of two m a i n types, those extending normal ly to three years , cal led junior secondary courses and intended for pupils leaving school at fifteen, and those extending to five or six years , k n o w n as senior secondary courses. T h e former correspond roughly to those provided in secondary m o d e r n schools in Eng land , whi le the lat ter cater b road ly for the types of pupils who are there admit ted to g r a m m a r schools a n d secondary technical schools. Bo th provide a general educat ion b u t a re differentiated to suit varying needs a n d abilities, and bo th include technical courses. Whi le some schools offer only junior secondary courses and some only senior secondary, in a n u m b e r of schools of the " comprehensive " t y p e , bo th are provided.

109. Junior secondary courses a re a t tended by abou t 70 per cent, of secondary pupils . Al l the pupils s tudy science and at least some mathemat ics and all boys receive a t ra in ing in crafts and in technical subjects. In their recent m e m o r a n d u m " Junior Secondary Educa t ion " the Scottish Educa t ion D e p a r t m e n t have r ecommended a realistic app roach to all subjects which will

t ake account of the lives the pupils will la ter lead as individuals and as citizens, and of their vocat ional a ims. T h e great majori ty of the pupils leave at fifteen to enter employment , b u t a n u m b e r of schools have successfully developed intensive fourth year classes in which those who remain at school can p repa re themselves for more advanced technical and commercia l educat ion, and this development is receiving every encouragement .

110. Senior secondary courses account for as much as 30 per cent, of the total secondary in take and even this figure is exceeded in some areas . These courses normal ly lead to presentat ion for the Scottish Leaving Certificate, which cor responds broadly to the Genera l Certificate of Educa t ion in E n g l a n d . Candida tes may b e presented in the fifth or sixth year in any subject o n either the lower or the higher g rade . T h e s tandard of the lower g rade corresponds roughly to tha t of the ord inary level of the Genera l Certificate of Educa t ion , b u t tha t of the higher grade , no t being based on a per iod of specialised study in a sixth form in the Engl ish sense, is no t as h igh as tha t of the advanced level. Pupi ls may also be presented on the lower g rade only in the four th year provided they are leaving school at the end of tha t year , a condit ion which it is now proposed to remove.

111. T h e great majority of boys and girls study b o t h mathemat ics and science for at least three years , a n d the n u m b e r tak ing these subjects u p to the level of the Scottish Leav ing Certificate has increased steadily. In 1954, mathemat ics wi th 7,418 candida tes , was second only to English wi th 8,499, a n d science with 4,861 occupied fifth p lace a m o n g the 25 subjects of t he examinat ion . Practically all the schools have facilities for craft work and for technical subjects, and 145 out of a total of 235 provide courses in technical subjects leading t o the Scottish Leaving Certificate.

112. T h e relatively h igh percentage of the secondary intake a l ready admit ted to senior secondary courses suggests tha t expansion of n u m b e r s mus t c o m e mainly from a reduct ion in was tage . A l though the n u m b e r of pupils in the fifth and sixth years has been gradual ly increasing, m a n y pupi ls of ability still leave premature ly , and concer ted efforts a re being m a d e b y approaches b o t h to the pupi ls a n d to their parents , to encourage m o r e t o comple te the course and qualify themselves ei ther for further s tudy or for entry to the professions a n d to the higher ranges of industry and commerce . If this a im is t o b e achieved t h e schools mus t cater adequately not only for t he minori ty of academic bent , b u t also for those whose needs would b e better met by courses of a m o r e pract ical character . - T h e curr iculum is accordingly now being examined wi th a view to in t roducing as m u c h variety a n d flexibility as possible, a n d to ensuring proper integrat ion with courses of further educat ion at the various levels.

C E N T R A L I N S T I T U T I O N S 113. In Scotland, in cont ras t t o Eng land , t h e keystone of the system of

technical educat ion has been, not the local technical college administered by a single educa t ion authori ty and serving t h a t author i ty ' s area , but the central institution functioning on a regional basis . These institutions came in to existence in the first decade of the present century under independent governing bodies representing the educat ional , industr ial and other publ ic interests in the region. F r o m the outset, they were designed to provide, in addi t ion t o such other less advanced facilities as migh t b e appropr ia te , the highest forms of instruction in applied science, together wi th opportuni t ies of research and discovery. In the words of the official announcement of this policy in 1901 : " It is f rom such insti tutions . . . tha t decisive advantage to the industries of t he country, in so far as tha t is dependent on educat ional a r rangements , is to be looked for " .

114. Scotland, therefore, began not wi th a large n u m b e r of local technical colleges as t h e b r o a d b a s e of a pyramid on which higher insti tutions would la ter b e raised, b u t with a small n u m b e r of cent ra l inst i tut ions as pioneer centres which b lazed the trai l in technical educa t ion and round which local o u t p o s t s - t h e local further educat ion cen t res—were later to grow u p , d rawing inspirat ion from the cent ra l institutions. T h a t technical educat ion in Scotland should originate in this regional f ramework is largely a t t r ibu tab le to factors of geography a n d popula t ion . I t has p roved itself well suited t o the needs of a small count ry wi th a l imited popula t ion heavily concent ra ted in a few industr ia l areas . T h e central insti tutions—of which 7* a re concerned with the strictly " t e c h n i c a l " subjec ts—have g rown steadily in impor tance and usefulness as their r ange of courses, n u m b e r s of s tudents , b o t h full-time and par t - t ime, and bui ldings have expanded . N o t only have they m a d e great str ides within their own b o u n d s in developing the h igher forms of technical educat ion , bu t they have exercised a p rofound influence on the provision m a d e b y educa t ion authori t ies a t the m o r e e lementa ry levels.

Fu l l - t ime Courses 115. F r o m the outset , t h e courses offered a t t h e colleges—full-time and

par t - t ime—covered a wide r ange of subjects including the sciences, pu re and appl ied , a n d the technologies relat ing t o industr ies , such as engineering in al l its b ranches , bui ld ing, pr int ing, bak ing , brewing a n d wool len manufac ture . T h e distinguishing feature of the colleges has been the full-time courses leading to thei r own d ip loma or associateship. Indeed , in some , the greater p ropor t ion of the w o r k is full-time. T h e n u m b e r s tak ing these courses have risen from 1,600 in 1938 to 2,000 in 1954.

116 . T h e full-time courses a re of th ree or four years ' dura t ion , and com­p a r a b l e in scope a n d s t anda rd wi th university degrees. A g e and qualifications for entry are usual ly s imilar to those for a university degree , except as regards such requ i rements as a foreign language . T h e awards thus inst i tuted b y t h e individual colleges have won for themselves an increasing repu ta t ion b o t h in Scotland a n d beyond which testifies t o t he h igh s t anda rd of instruction provided. T h e highest awards of the two leading centra l inst i tut ions—the R o y a l Technical College, Glasgow, a n d the Her io t -Wat t Col lege, E d inbu r gh , — a r e now recognised as being of honour s degree s t andard . T h a t such awards a r e becoming increasingly at t ract ive t o s tudents a n d acceptable to industry is shown by the str iking expans ion in t he last few years in the n u m b e r s comple t ing t h e appropr i a t e courses a t the t w o colleges. T h u s a t the R o y a l Technica l College, t he n u m b e r of associateship awards rose from 97 in 1950-51 t o 160 in 1954-55 (a n u m b e r of the s a m e s tudents taking the Universi ty degree as well). A t the Her io t -Wat t College be tween the same years the n u m b e r of associateship awards rose f rom 49 to 65.

117. In addi t ion , unde r affiliation a r r angemen t s wi th their respective Universi t ies , these two Colleges provide a n u m b e r of courses leading t o the B.Sc. degree of the universit ies. A t Aberdeen , R o b e r t Gordon ' s College have long h a d a scheme of co-opera t ion wi th t he Universi ty for joint teaching of degree and d i p l o m a students in engineering. This has recently been revised t o obta in still closer co-opera t ion in future . T h e other cent ra l institutions

* These are:—Aberdeen, Robert Gordon's Technical College; Dundee, Institute of Art and Technology; Edinburgh, Heriot-Watt College; Galashiels, The Scottish Woollen Technical College; Glasgow, The Royal Technical College; Leith Nautical Technical College; Paisley Technical College.

provide courses for external degrees of L o n d o n Universi ty as well as for their own awards and for Higher Na t iona l Dip lomas . A considerable a m o u n t of research, much of it for industr ial concerns , is carr ied ou t a t the va r ious central inst i tut ions, and pos t -gradua te awards are avai lable at some of them.

118. O n e of these central ins t i tu t ions—the R o y a l Technica l College—is generally recognised as having pioneered the sandwich course whereby s tudents spend one par t of the year in study a t the Col lege and the r ema inde r in pract ical w o r k in industry. Th i s me thod of t ra ining can b e t raced t o t he d i p l o m a courses a t the College as far b a c k as t h e 1880's a n d has been main ta ined there ever since. T h e s ame practice has been followed for the engineering degree courses of G lasgow Universi ty, bo th at the Universi ty itself and at the College, and is r ega rded as of the highest va lue as a me thod of study in t h e technological field. In m o r e recent years it has been successfully in t roduced in cer tain courses a t the Her io t -Wat t College, E d inbu r gh , a n d a t Paisley Technica l College.

119. A la ter development in the associateship courses which h a s been of some impor tance a n d which m a y b e of even greater significance in future is the acceptance into the penul t imate year of men w h o have ga ined their H ighe r Na t iona l Certificates. In this way , these men , by t he addi t ion of two years ' full-time study to their five or m o r e years ' pa r t - t ime s tudy, c an carry their advanced studies to a level c o m p a r a b l e wi th the highest avai lable anywhere in this count ry , a n d secure a qualification recognised as equivalent t o a n honour s degree. Students recruited b y this means are r ega rded as of the finest quali ty ob ta inab le anywhere , and they represent one of t he few h i the r to un tapped pools of rea l talent f rom which any substant ia l addi t ional n u m b e r s of technologists of first-class cal ibre can b e d rawn .

Par t - t ime Courses 120. Alongs ide their full-time courses , the central insti tutions provide a

wide range of par t - t ime courses . A t first these were evening only, b u t la ter pa r t - t ime day classes were added . These courses r ange f rom those at H ighe r Na t iona l Certificate level to p re -Nat iona l Certificate courses for boys w h o have just left school, courses for certificates of the City and Gui lds of L o n d o n Inst i tute o r courses of a purely pract ical na ture for young apprent ices . A l though , as described below, some of these courses a r e be ing gradual ly t ransfer red t o local centres r u n b y educat ion author i t ies , the following figures s h o w the la rge numbers of par t - t ime students still a t tending the seven central insti tutions concerned.

Year Day Evening Total 1946 ... ... 1,238 5,844 7,082 1954 4,422 10,349 14,771

L O C A L C E N T R E S Even ing Clasess

121. .Alongs ide the growth of the central institutions in the first decades of the p resen t century , educat ion authori t ies greatly developed t h e provision of evening classes at the more e lementary stages of technical subjects, and the " n i g h t s c h o o l " became a t radi t ional feature of the training of the young Scottish worker . But these classes could b e accommoda ted only in school premises, and , in the absence of special equipment , h a d to be confined within a relatively na r row range . A s a result of this factor a n d t h e very success of the central inst i tut ions in discharging their a l l -embracing task there was , u p to the last war , a tendency in Scot land—which is still all too preva len t—to look t o the central insti tutions for the provision of all types of technical educat ion outs ide the n o r m a l evening classes.

Loca l Technica l Colleges

122. B u t t he increasing range and complexity of scientific a n d technological knowledge and the steady growth in demand for technical educat ion, bo th day and evening, m a d e it impract icable and undesirable tha t the centra l inst i tut ions should cont inue to cover the entire r ange of technical educat ion in Scotland. In certain areas , therefore, educat ion authorit ies even before the last war , began t o develop, in addi t ion to their evening class provision, centres for technical educat ion or local technical colleges as they a re now called. By this means the central institutions could be relieved of the m o r e e lementary stages of their w o r k a n d left free to develop the more advanced courses ' a n d studies and to increase the number s of the students in them.

123. Some 50 local technical colleges and other day institutes providing pre-vocat ional or other full-time courses and par t - t ime day-release courses t h u s c a m e to be established. A few were bui l t specially for the purpose before the war , b u t the m a i n expansion has t aken place since 1940. A s a consequence of war - t ime a n d post-war restrictions, mos t of these centres h a v e h a d to b e housed in adap ted or improvised accommoda t ion—conver ted factories and r e d u n d a n t school premises p redomina t ing—or h a v e h a d to share premises wi th schools. T h e consequence has been tha t , in t h e absence of premises buil t specially for the purpose , t he courses provided in many of t h e centres have been confined within too nar row a range . T h e makeshift na tu r e of the a c c o m m o d a t i o n has also tended to depress t h e d e m a n d a n d interest of employers and prospective students al ike. A p a r t f rom the enthusiasts a m o n g them, they have been tempted to regard technical educat ion as l ike the premises in which it is given—something second ra t e in some obscure by-way — a n d no t of the s ame impor tance as w h a t goes on in a secondary school, a factory or an office wi th modern , up- to-da te premises.

124. B u t tha t op in ion is belied by the quali ty of the work done in these centres a n d the record of their achievements in various examinat ions . They complemen t w h a t is done in t he central insti tutions by providing courses for O r d i n a r y Nat iona l Certificates—in s o m e cases even Highe r Na t iona l Cert i f icates—the certificates of the City and Gui lds of L o n d o n Inst i tute , a n d courses of a pract ical craft and w o r k s h o p na tu re . In addi t ion they provide full-time pre-apprent iceship or pre-vocat ional courses to p repa re boys and girls leaving school at fifteen for the t rade they wish to enter. I n these courses, which generally last o n e year , the t ime is divided equally between subjects of genera l educa t ion and the fundamentals of technical subjects on t he one h a n d a n d practical w o r k on the other. They cover a wide variety of occupat ions —principal ly bui ld ing, engineering, commercia l subjects a n d nursing.

125. T h e latest feature of technical educa t ion—the day-release class whereby the young worker spends one day of his working week receiving ins t ruct ion and t ra ining in the fundamenta ls of technical work a t a n educa­t ional es tabl ishment , while dur ing the o ther four or five h e is learning pract ical w o r k in the fac tory—has been developed in the local technical colleges as well as in the central institutions. A l t h o u g h the increase in the figures from 600 in 1939, to 5,000 in 1946, 20,000 in 1951, and 25,500 in 1954-1955 represen ts substant ial progress, development has not been as rap id or as far reaching as it ought to have been or as it has been in Eng land where 355,000 young people were released from their employment in 1954-1955. It is significant also that of the 1954-1955 Scottish total , just over 15,000 were be tween the ages of fifteen and eighteen, or only 9 per cent, of t h e total

numbers in these age g roups . T h e development is also uneven as be tween different industries as appears from the following t ab le : —

TABLE V

EDUCATIONAL YEAR 1953-54

STUDENTS " RELEASED " FROM INDUSTRY-SCOTLAND Boys and girls aged under 18 years released by their employers to attend courses for part-time

education shown as a percentage of the estimated number aged under 18 years who are insured under the National Insurance Acts.

Estimated Numbers Numbers

Industry numbers

employed at end of

May*

released byemployers

during year

released as per cent, of

numbers insured

Mining and Quarrying 6,210 2,992 48 Public Administration and Local Authority

services 2,890 1,389 48 Chemicals and allied trades ... ... 1,840 702 38 Building and Contracting ... 13,0313,0300 2,663 20 Engineering, Metal Manufacture, Metal Goods

and Vehicles ... ... 28,9428,9400 4,574,5722 16 Other Manufacturing Industries (including

Leather, Wood and Cork, Precision Instruments,Treatment of Non-Metalliferous Mining Pro­ducts) ... ... ... ... ... 7,580 795 10

Miscellaneous 10,360 389 4 Paper and Printing ... 6,300 203 3 Distributive Trades... 38,550 1,095 3 Textiles and Clothing 23,840 430 2 Food, Drink and Tobacco 11,140 25 1 Transport 6,580 13 1 Insurance, Banking and Finance and Professional

services 9,100 56 1 Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 9,640 2 —

TOTAL . . . 176,000 15,326 9

* Figures supplied by Ministry of Labour and National Service.

Bursary Assistance 126. Students wishing to t a k e advantage of any of t h e facilities descr ibed

above m a y ob ta in assistance f rom publ ic funds through educa t ion author i t ies , who a w a r d bursar ies in accordance wi th Regula t ions m a d e by the Secretary or State for practically all forms of further educat ion. These awards inc lude not only those tenab le a t universi ty, central insti tution, teachers ' t ra in ing college of further educat ion centre , bu t also pre-vocat ional bursaries ( awarded for pre-apprent iceship courses and courses of a similar type) and apprent ices ' bursar ies (awarded for courses unde r t aken during periods of re lease f rom employment ) . I n addi t ion, bursar ies for t h e payment of fees, for subsistence if necessary, and for books a n d ins t ruments may be awarded to evening class s tudents .

127. Educa t ion authori t ies will generally grant a bursary to any persons resident in their a rea w h o is qualified for admission to t he course he desires to follow. I n session 1954-1955, authori t ies m a d e further educat ion awards including 13,779 whole- t ime a n d 1,446 par t - t ime bursar ies . Of the whole- t ime awards , 5,111 were tenable in all faculties at universities, 2,786 in central inst i tut ions, a n d 2,833 in pre-apprent iceship courses ; while of the par t - t ime awards , 1,183 were tenable a t central inst i tut ions and further educat ion centres.

Aid from Industry 128. Paral lel with the financial aid avai lable from bursary funds a n d of

n o less impor tance is t ha t given by employers . I n the case of evening classes, most employers pay class fees, and in t he case of day-release classes they pay wages and fees. A few employers w h o send selected students to sandwich or other full-time courses at a n advanced level a re willing to cont inue to pay wages and to meet tui t ion expenses. T h e Gove rnmen t regard all such assistance as valuable bo th to t h e s tudent a n d to his firm and they h o p e that many more firms will b e encouraged to offer it in view of the na t iona l need for more and bet ter t ra ined technologists a n d technicians.

R E G I O N A L C O - O P E R A T I O N

129. In the development of technical educa t ion in the West of Scot land as the ma in centre of industry and popula t ion it was early found desi rable that there should b e s o m e means of liaison be tween local centres a n d centra l institutions and the courses they provide. T h e first s tep to secure this co­ordinat ion was taken over 50 years ago w h e n a Jo in t Commi t t ee for Technica l Educa t ion w a s set up . I t includes both educat ionis ts and industrialists a n d by devising schemes of work for var ious technical courses and b y o the r co-ordinat ing a r rangements t h e Commi t t ee has d o n e m u c h to ensure uni form s tandards th roughout all the centres within its ambi t . I t has thus s t imulated the expansion and has raised the s t andard of technical educat ion in t he West of Scotland by l inking centres of var ied types and status wi th t h e centra l institutions. The success of this machinery has led to the es tabl ishment in the south-eastern and nor th-eastern regions of Scot land of s imilar Commi t t ee s who have begun to work on the same lines a s those followed in the West of Scotland.

130. Ano the r more recent step towards securing a closer weld ing of technical educat ion was the establ ishment in 1948 by statutory order unde r t he Educa t ion (Scotland) Ac t s , of five Reg iona l Advisory Counci ls for Technical Educa t ion cover ing between t h e m the whole of Scotland. These a re designed to extend and facilitate the co-opera t ion of educat ion and industry in the deve lopment of technical educat ion . These interests have already co-operated on the governing bod ies of centra l institutions, a n d m a n y educat ion authori t ies h a v e local advisory commit tees for different t rades to advise t h e m on par t icu lar courses. Bu t t he purpose of the new Reg iona l Counci l is to br ing together representat ives of educat ion and of b o t h sides of industry in the respective regions so t h a t they may jointly advise educa t ion authori t ies and other m a n a g e r s of educa t iona l establ ishments on the develop­ment of technical educat ion in the region. By this means technical educat ion secures the full and pract ical support of industry , and educat ion authori t ies a n d central institutions ob ta in author i ta t ive advice f rom a regional b o d y t o assist them in considering the provision of new facilities.the five Councils mee t annual ly to discuss impor t an tconsiderat ion from a na t iona l point of view.

Representa t ives mat ters requi r ing

of

S U R V E Y O F P R O G R E S S

131. H o w has this s t ruc ture of technical educat ion served Scot land in the pas t? Scotland's p r ide in t he academic t rad i t ions of her educat ional system may have tended to overshadow her achievements in technical educat ion. Bu t these achievements have contr ibuted in n o small measure to the renown of her engineering skill th roughout the wor ld in the past half century. T h e foundat ions of these successes have lain just as much in her technical colleges a n d evening schools as in the shipyards a n d factories. T h a t these a n d similar

further educat ion es tabl ishments h a v e h i ther to proved capab le of expand ing to meet the increasing d e m a n d s m a d e u p o n t h e m is shown b y the following table of the n u m b e r of further educa t ion s tudents be tween 1938 and 1954 :—

T A B L E V I NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN FURTHER EDUCATION-SCOTLAND

thousands

1937-38 1946-47 1954-55

Full-time 5 9 10 Part-time day ... 3 9 25 Evening only 174 180 206

TOTALS 182 198 241

132. But these es tabl ishments a r e only pa r t of t he wider system of h igher educat ion in Scotland. T a b l e V I I be low illustrates the propor t ions of the var ious age-groups following the different forms of post-school educa t ion : —

T A B L E V I I Estimated number of persons in Scotland between fifteen and twenty receiving different

forms of education expressed as a percentage of each age group in 1953-54*

Central Institutions and Teacher Further Education

Age Schools Universities Training Centresf Total Colleges

Full-time Part-time

BOYS 20 — 5-5 0 1 1 1 18-7 25-4 19 4-3 0-1 1 0 26-2 31-6 .—.

18 1-2 2-9 0 1 0-8 35-6 40-6 17 8-1 1-3 — 1-3 39-9 50-6 16 13 0 — — 3 1 30-8 46-9 15 23-2 — 2-5 12-6 38-3 -

GIRLS 20 — 2-6 1-4 1-2 9-7 14-9 19 — 2-3 1-4 1-6 12-4 17-7 18 0-6 1-6 1-8 1-7 17-8 23-5 17 6-2 0-8 1-9 21-7 30-6

. —16 12-3 — 2-8 20-3 35-4 15 22-7 — — 1-5 10-2 34-4

* School figures are for January, 1955. The percentages relate to the estimated population December, 1954. Percentages other than (1) are related to the estimated population December, 1953.

f These statistics refer only to students who took a progressive course of study in one or more subjects.

' 133. When the large cont r ibu t ion of t h e Scottish universities t o the product ion of technologists is inc luded the technological depar tments of these universities a n d the courses at the R o y a l Technica l College conta in no less t han one-fifth of the full-time students following graduat ing courses in technology in the whole of the Uni t ed K i n g d o m . A t other levels, the number s of enro lments in evening courses of a technical kind is (at 54,000) greater than a t any other t ime in t h e history of technical educat ion.

134. N o r is the success of the system to be measured only in figures. Whatever virtues it may lack, it possesses one of the most precious vir tues in any educat ional system—flexibility. I t c an be entered by many doors , and at m a n y s t a g e s ; and young people can work their way through it as far as their ability will a l low.

135. B u t if there is m u c h in the deve lopment of our system of technical educat ion t h a t is c redi table , the re i s n o g r o u n d for complacency . T h e foundat ions a p p e a r t o be sound a n d well able to carry the extensions a n d adapta t ions which we must m a k e in ou r s t ructure t o enable it t o mee t the still greater demands it will have to face in this new scientific and technological age. A s h a s been indicated, the m a i n s t rength of Scot land 's system of technical educat ion h a s lain in its m o r e t rad i t iona l fea tures—the compara t ive ly high propor t ion of students embark ing o n unde r -g radua te and similar full­t ime courses, a n d the main tenance of evening class n u m b e r s . I n the newer developments in technical educa t ion—the pre-apprent icesh ip classes a n d the day-release c lass—her record is less satisfactory. Whi le therefore w e must develop to the u tmost those aspects in which we a r e s t rong, we must also become strong where we a r e at present weak . M u c h will r equ i re t o b e done by all concerned with technical educa t ion—the Governmen t , educat ion authori t ies , b o t h sides of industry , pa r en t s a n d young people—if it is to meet the needs of the new age for an ever wider variety of courses a n d the t raining of ever increasing n u m b e r s of s tudents a t all levels.

P L A N S F O R T H E F U T U R E

136. O n its side the Governmen t is de te rmined to ensure that t h e facilities are provided which will permi t of a subs tant ia l increase in the n u m b e r s of t ra ined people requi red by industry, whe ther a t the level of the technologist , the technician o r the craf tsman. T h i s will entai l developments a t Scottish universit ies, centra l inst i tut ions and local technical colleges. T o make possible the a d v a n c e a t the central inst i tut ions a n d local technical colleges, to which university expans ion will b e addi t iona l , it is the G o v e r n m e n t s aim to have a hui ld ing p r o g r a m m e of a capi ta l va lue approach ing £10 (m) started Within five years .

U N I V E R S I T I E S A N D C E N T R A L I N S T I T U T I O N S

137. T h e universit ies and cent ra l inst i tut ions are the sources of supply of technologists for the most advanced fo rms of work . T h e G o v e r n m e n t s p lans for the deve lopment of h igher t echnolog ica l educa t ion a t university level th roughout the Uni ted K i n g d o m are referred to elsewhere in this Paper . In these, Scotland plays a p rominen t par t . In Glasgow, the Universi ty and the R o y a l Technica l College in associa t ion form one of t he m a i n centres specially selected for ma jo r deve lopment a n d extension. Grea t developments have already been launched there . A t t he Universi ty, a bui lding p r o g r a m m e of £2 (m) has been comple ted since the wa r , the great pa r t of it for scientific a n d technological work . A further ma jo r bui ld ing project for a mode rn engineering bu i ld ing costing over £ \ (m) has been begun . A t t h e R o y a l Technica l College a large extension provid ing accommoda t ion for the mechanica l , civil, chemical and min ing engineer ing depar tments is near ing comple t ion at a cost of abou t £1 (m). A further extension costing abou t SL\ (m) has just been begun, and land h a s been acquired for still further bui lding. A residential centre for m a n a g e m e n t s tudies—the first of its kind to b e opened in the Uni ted K i n g d o m as p a r t of educat ional inst i tut ion—was recently established a n d is to be further ex tended. In E d i n b u r g h , the Her iot -W a t t College is pressing ahead with deve lopments on a smaller scale but of equal impor tance . In conjunction wi th the Universi ty , a depa r tmen t in the impor tan t subject of chemical engineering has been established, and a bui lding extension costing nearly SL\ (m) is in progress, with o ther smaller extensions in prospect .

138. A t all t he central inst i tut ions, despi te steady extension of bui ldings over m a n y years , over-crowding persists a n d m a n y bui ld ings a re i l l-designed and unsuited to the requi rements of mode rn technological s tudies. Substant ia l improvements h a v e been m a d e in recent years . F u r t h e r projects h a v e b e e n approved. Others are being p repa red for approva l . T r i b u t e is d u e to t h e main tenance by the Scottish industry of i ts t radi t ional suppor t of t he provision of the advanced levels of technical educat ion. L a r ge s u m s of money h a v e been contr ibuted or have been promised for the new bui ld ings a n d equ ipmen t at var ious centra l insti tutions. T o these cont r ibut ions a re a d d e d capi ta l grants f rom the Educa t ion (Scotland) F u n d to cover t he cost of t h e developments .

139. Wi th r ega rd to revenue , special g r a n t a r rangement s have b e e n m a d e so that t he Secretary of State may m a k e such paymen t s as he th inks fit beyond the no rma l 60 pe r cent, g ran t to enable t h e colleges t o mee t the heavy cost of mainta ining first-class facilities.

140. Coupled with this bui lding development , a t tent ion is constant ly devoted to the development of new facilities and courses a t all t h e centra l inst i tut ions. T h e d ip loma and associateship courses a re unde r review t o ensure that they keep pace wi th the needs of m o d e r n industry, and in this review the possibility of extending the use of sandwich courses occupies a p rominen t place. I n addi t ion, the Reg iona l Advisory Counci l s have been asked to consider t he general p rob l em of the extent to which tha t type of course migh t b e usefully extended to' o ther levels of t ra ining.

L O C A L T E C H N I C A L C O L L E G E S

Transfer of courses 141. T h e great need in Scot land is, however , for be t te r provision for t h e

technical educat ion appropr ia te to the local technical colleges run by educat ion authori t ies. Emphas i s has been laid on the need for relieving the central insti tutions of t h e more e lementary courses to al low t h e m to extend the number of places available there for more advanced w o r k and t o r e -a r range their curr icula to provide a still greater variety of courses. F o r reasons a l ready indicated, the process of transfer f rom the cent ra l inst i tut ions to these local colleges h a s been slow. Only in Glasgow h a s str iking progress been possible. The re the R o y a l Technical College has divested itself a lmost entirely of work of sub-university s tandard . Elsewhere much still requires t o be d o n e before the centra l insti tutions will b e ab le to devote themselves solely t o the more advanced level of t ra ining.

142. Educa t ion authori t ies must therefore expand their facilities substan­tially in o rder to t ra in in la rge number s the technicians on w h o m industry is going to rely m o r e and m o r e in the future if full advan tage is to b e taken of the ideas of our scientists and technologists . In the new provision which education authori t ies will have to m a k e , pre-apprent iceship and day-release courses mus t play an increasing par t .

Pre-apprenticeship and day-release courses 143. Alongside the effort thus required from educat ion authorit ies, b o t h

employers and t rade unions in industry will have to keep in mind tha t pre-apprent iceship and day-release courses are mode rn forms of technical education which experience in other countr ies suggests are pre-requisites of success in the modern science-based industries. T h e development of pre­apprent iceship courses would be s t imulated if substant ial remission of the apprent iceship period could be given for t ime spent in taking the c l a s s e s ­

here the t r ade unions have great r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s - a n d if employers would give due weight when engaging apprent ices to t he value of this sound t ra ining in the fundamenta ls of their t r ade . Pa r t - t ime day educat ion, as c o m p a r e d with evening classes, is to b e preferred b o t h educat ional ly in the shor t t e r m a n d from the point of view of industr ia l efficiency in the long t e rm. T o the present figures for day-release in Scot land al ready quoted , a t least a further 15,000 students will be needed if Scot land is to a t ta in propor t ionate ly the same n u m b e r of day-release students as there is a l ready in Eng land , a n d m o r e if she is to keep in s tep wi th expans ion there . Fac to r s of geography, popu la t ion and industr ial s t ructure account in par t for the disparity which has h i ther to existed between the two countr ies . B u t the essential factor is the full co-opera t ion of all concerned—educa t ion authori t ies in providing facilities and bo th sides of industry, especially the employers , i n releasing boys a n d encouraging their interest. Eve ry effort will b e m a d e to foster this co-opera t ion th rough the Reg iona l Advisory Counci ls and otherwise. As pa r t of the plans to s t imulate technical educat ion, these Counci ls have just been reconst i tuted, with bo th the industr ia l a n d educa t iona l elements s t rengthened.

Provis ion of Craft Courses 144. O n e need which must receive a t tent ion at this level of technical

educa t ion is to devise courses wi th a h igh pract ical conten t sui table for boys w h o are not fitted for much theoret ical work . In the present courses, such as those leading to the Ord ina ry Na t iona l Certificate or the City and Gui lds examinat ions , in which a substant ia l e lement of theory is included, the high degree of was tage is dis turbing. L a r g e n u m b e r s of s tudents w h o e m b a r k o n the courses are sooner or la ter found" to b e ill equ ipped to ob ta in full benefit f rom them. Hi the r to , a l ternat ive pract ical courses designed to improve their a t ta inments as craf tsmen have not been often avai lable . T h e deve lopment of this type of course is, therefore, be ing encouraged . N o t only will this result in the reduct ion of wastage in the theoret ical courses, bu t in a m a r k e d improvement in the s t andards of craf tsmanship in industry.

Bui ld ings and Teache r s 145. This expans ion of the responsibili t ies of educat ion authori t ies in the

field-of technical educat ion will requi re a major bui ld ing effort by the author i t ies to m a k e good the slow progress in providing such facilities in t he past . A start h a s already been m a d e by one educa t ion author i ty wi th t he bui ld ing of the first entirely new local technical college t o b e provided in Scot land since the war . Ten others , main ly in t he industr ia l a reas , have h a d projects approved or have them at var ious stages of p repara t ion .

146. A major increase in recrui tment of teachers will also b e required as facilities expand , mainly to m a n the new local technical colleges. The re a r e 1,150 full-time a n d 6,100 par t - t ime teachers in central insti tutions a n d technical colleges and these number s will have to b e substantial ly increased w h e n the new colleges are work ing to capaci ty . T h e teaching staffs a re

; recrui ted from two sources. O n e is t he teaching profession. T h e new scales of salary for full-time teachers of further educat ion in Scotland, which t o o k account of the special needs and condi t ions in further educat ion, a re a l ready proving a successful s t imulus to recru i tment to this work . T h e transfer of teachers to the technical colleges from the schools m a y further b e eased to some extent when the " bulge " has passed out of t h e schools. Indus t ry has proved an equally va luable source of recru i tment of bo th full­t ime a n d par t - t ime teachers . I t is hoped that industry will , in view of the grea t need for and advantages of expans ion of technical educat ion, be willing

to release m a n y more staff qualified to teach and tha t m o r e and more of those who unde r t ake par t - t ime teaching will, as the need increases, b e encouraged to become full-time teachers .

147. M u c h is a lready done by par t - t ime or short vacat ion courses to equ ip teachers in further educat ion, whether recrui ted from the profession or f rom industry, for the special requi rements of tha t work . Cons iderab le deve lopment of this form of t ra ining will b e necessary as m o r e teachers are recrui ted f rom industry. F o r those entering teaching direct from university o r college, the establ ishment of new t ra in ing courses specially designed to fit t h e m to engage in further educat ion will be considered as pa r t of t h e for thcoming review of teacher t ra ining in Scotland.

F U R T H E R E D U C A T I O N F O R G I R L S

148. As in Eng land , the further educat ion of girls raises special p roblems. T o o often further educat ion—par t icular ly part-time—-is regarded as impor t an t only for boys . Bu t it is des i rable not only in the interests of the girls themselves bu t in the na t iona l interest t ha t they should have equa l oppor ­tunities wi th boys , and should t ake every advantage of these oppor tuni t ies , to carry their educat ion a n d t ra ining to as advanced a s t anda rd as possible. O n the vocat ional side, they will thus be bet ter equ ipped to do their par t icular job more efficiently in the days w h e n they are in employment . On t h e personal side, they will have a bet ter general educa t ion which will enable t h e m to lead a full life in their leisure from employment a n d m a k e t h e m all the m o r e fitted to carry out at a later stage tha t mos t impor t an t function of all, which the great majori ty of them will be called u p o n to u n d e r t a k e — the foundat ion of a h o m e and a family.

149. T h e need for developing further educat ion for girls is shown by the fact tha t only one girl in five takes any form of further educat ion at all even at the age when such educat ion is generally most popula r . A t the p r e ­vocat ional stage, demand is concentra ted on courses for nurs ing, homecraf t , and secretarial subjects. D e m a n d a m o n g girls for day-release courses is l imited very largely to commerc ia l and general subjects, dis tr ibut ive t rades , clothing and textiles, hai rdress ing and nurs ing.

150. M u c h therefore remains to b e done to s t imulate a m o n g girls a greater demand for further educat ion generally, even to b r ing the number s u p to wha t they should be in courses l inked with w h a t are t radi t ional ly regarded as girls ' careers. Bu t an even greater p rob lem confronts u s in t app ing the resources of ta lent and l abour avai lable a m o n g girls in o rder to- swell the numbers of t ra ined personnel needed for the more strictly technical occupa­tions. T h e r e is no d o u b t tha t at present much ta lent is lost to industry at bo th advanced and craft levels because the resources of technical and scientific ability a m o n g girls a re not d rawn on as they might be . I t is t rue that some of the courses a l ready t aken by girls such as those concerned with textiles and nursing, have a considerable technical or science content . A t the level of technology, only a few girls t ake engineering subjects, bu t numbers of girls t ake science subjects. In 1954 m o r e than 15 per cent, of the students gaining their Na t iona l Certificates in chemistry a n d appl ied physics were girls. In pha rmacy , too , 40 per cent, of those w ho took their qualifications in 1954 were girls.

151. Bu t we must do m u c h more than this if we are to succeed in the drive to train the technicians and technologists we need. A new out look among parents and in schools on the careers which are open to girls is required, so t ha t those with a pract ical or scientific bent can be encouraged to grasp the opportuni t ies open to girls as well as to boys . Educa t ion

authori t ies and the governors of central inst i tut ions might well consider w h a t they should do to encourage a greater d e m a n d for technical t ra ining a m o n g g i r l s ; they might establish special courses for girls in par t icular industr ies and set aside special classes in technica l colleges for girls only. M o r e employers , pa r t i cu la r ly . in the new l ight industries, might consider recrui t ing girl technicians a n d training t h e m on the job . T h o s e w h o a l ready d o so have found the girls m o r e n imble with their hands a t par t icular k inds of work a n d no less quick to pick u p technical processes. In these ways a n d b y the exercise of foresight and imagina t ion on the pa r t of parents , indust ry a n d educat ion, m u c h can be done to provide wor thwhi le careers for w o m e n while assisting in the recrui tment of t ra ined people for industry.

P R O G R A M M E O F C A P I T A L E X P E N D I T U R E

152. Al l the developments on the foregoing lines a t b o t h Centra l Inst i tut ions and Technical Colleges involve a large-scale p r o g r a m m e of capi ta l expendi ture . It will b e a major a im of G o v e r n m e n t policy over the nex t five years to ensure that the necessary resources are avai lable. T h e Govern­ment a re ready to author ise a p r o g r a m m e of bui ldings for technical educat ion to be s tar ted within the next five years to the va lue of £10 million, with a further £2 million for the necessary equipment . H o w far this p r o g r a m m e can be realised will depend largely on how soon educat ion authorit ies can expedi te their local technical college projects. T h e Government look to t he authori t ies t o bring forward as quickly as possible all such projects which they h a v e h a d in mind for the future. F o r these projects a lone £6 mil l ion of the £10 million will be required. T h e Gove rnmen t will l ook to t he authori t ies further t o start within the per iod such addi t ional projects as m a y p rove to b e within their compass and in this way to m a k e full use of the total resources available.

153. T h e Secretary of State intends for thwith t o discuss wi th the authori t ies concerned how progress can best be m a d e on the projects a l ready unde r considerat ion and how soon further projects can b e under taken .

C H A P T E R V

C O N C L U S I O N

154. Success is carrying ou t the plans set ou t in this Pape r depends on a t t ract ing many more students and placing them in the right courses, and on their own willingness to work hard and go th rough with their studies. Al l these a re h u m a n problems, closely related to the s t u d e n t s background .

155. M a n y enquiries in secondary schools have shown that again and again a good h o m e accounts for the widely different rates of progress m a d e by chi ldren between w h o m there was nothing to choose at the age of eleven. Pa ren t s easily over-estimate wha t formal educa t ion can do for their children a n d under-est imate their own influence, be it for good or evil . A s soon as educat ion becomes voluntary , as it does at the age of fifteen, there is a crucial decision to be taken. Sometimes it is the boy o r girl w ho takes it, bu t more often t han not what the family and the ne ighbours think abou t continuing to study determines the decision. If mother and father cannot see the advan tage of further education, it is a b rave child w ho goes against their wishes.

156. Every effort must be m a d e , therefore, to win the support of parents for further educat ion. The schools and technical colleges a re fully alive to this need, and through personal contacts and paren t s ' associat ions steady

progress is being m a d e . T h e campa ign by our leading firms, in the na t iona l press and by visits and conferences, t o i l lustrate the careers open t o boys a n d girls has d o n e m u c h to stir u p interest in the schools in the future of Bri t ish industry.

157. T h e good firm is the ally of the good h o m e , and . if a boy comes from a h o m e hosti le t o further educat ion, his firm is his lifeline. Both sides of industry, speaking th rough their official representat ives , fully recognise this responsibil i ty. Manage r s a n d t r ade un ion leaders w h o sit on m a n y bodies concerned wi th educat ion have been insistent tha t the Gove rnmen t should expand technical educat ion. I n accepting this advice t he G o v e r n m e n t now look to the individual employer a n d t rade un ion leader to give all the p rac ­tical he lp they can to m a k e the new plans a success. T h e m o r e representa­tives of industry get to know the colleges, the better . T h e y are a l ready helping the colleges in m a n y w a y s : by acting as member s of regional bodies a n d governing bodies of colleges a n d as par t - t ime teachers . They can be of par t icular service by taking an interest in the work ing out of new courses and the d rawing u p of bui lding p rog rammes . I t is great ly to b e hoped tha t more and more of the leading m e n and w o m e n on both sides of indust ry will give some of their t ime to the p rob lems of further educat ion. They can b e sure that their interest and example will always have a mos t s t imulat ing effect u p o n the colleges.

158. I n the end it is the a t t i tude of individual firms to further educa t ion which will coun t most . T h e Gove rnmen t hope ail employers will consider every y o u n g worke r as someone w h o still has t o find his or her feet in t he world and for whose educat ion and character the employer bears a respon­sibility second only to that of paren ts . M a n y pr ivate firms and the nat ion­alised industr ies , in spite of the present shor tage of l abour , go out of their way to encourage their young workers to improve their qualif ications. Some large firms have established works schools in which vocat ional a n d general educat ion is given to apprent ices from w h o m the most able are chosen for advanced courses at a university or technical college. Othe r s rely for tech­nical educat ion wholly on the colleges a n d a m o n g these are the strongest advocates for the expans ion of the facilities avai lable today. Small firms find greater difficulty in providing oppor tuni t ies for young people owing part ly to the restricted scope of their work , and par t ly to the -problem of releasing apprent ices when the total n u m b e r in a shop is small . T h e spread of g r o u p apprent iceship schemes designed for small firms will go some way towards overcoming these difficulties. I t is likely to increase the n u m b e r of apprent ice­tices and correspondingly increase the requi rements for par t - t ime day facilities in technical colleges.

159. Final ly , there is the general public . H o w are we to get their full suppor t for our plans which mus t cost a great deal of m o n e y ? T h e old idea that advanced educat ion is good only for a small selection of the people is dead. T h e management , of full employment , wi th its m u c h greater need for a responsible a t t i tude to work a n d its challenge to greater output per m a n as the only way further to raise living s tandards , has b rough t a sense of our dependence on educat ion as the key to advance . Everyone can now see the value of giving all chi ldren, wherever they c o m e from and whatever their financial c i rcumstances , the best possible chance to develop their own talents and contr ibute t o the na t ional well-being. Technical education must be brought within the reach of all in this country and offered generously to those from overseas. T h e Governmen t are confident that this task will be under taken willingly by the nat ion.

APPENDIX- A

NOTE ON THE U.S.A., THE U.S.S.R. A N D WESTERN EUROPE In this appendix are set out some of the available figures and facts about the

output of technical manpower in certain foreign countries. Comparisons between countries in this field are hard to make, and are necessarily unreliable for several reasons. Firstly, it is difficult to be sure of the facts. Secondly, systems of education, and of employment of technical manpower, vary very greatly between different countr ies ; this makes it almost impossible to equate with any certainty the standards of attainment represented by the different degrees, diplomas, certifi­cates, etc. Thirdly, even the meaning of the different categories—technologists, technicians and craftsmen (defined for the purposes of this White Paper on page 1) —varies from country to country. Moreover, a comparison of the position at one point in time is misleading unless regard is also had to the trends over a period.

2. Even within this country there is such a wide range of technical qualifications that there is ample room for argument about which qualification should be included in which category. Moreover, many craftsmen and some technicians are trained solely on the job and d o not figure in any statistical returns. The difficulty of making comparisons is less severe in the ease of the highest category—"broadly speaking, technologists. This appendix is therefore concerned mainly with them. Though they constitute a relatively small proportion of a country's technical manpower, their numbers give quite a good indication of the scale of its efforts in technical education.

Great Britain 3. As indicated in paragraphs 50 and 56 of the White Paper, this country, with

a population of close on 50 million, produced in 1954: 2,800 University graduates in the engineering and other applied sciences

(or holders of diplomas awarded at universities) 57 per million of the popula­tion. Some 2,300 of these students obtained their qualifications by three or four years' full t ime study at universities—the rest by full time or part t ime study at technical colleges.

8,100 holders of Higher National Certificates (or broadly equivalent qualifi­cations)—164 per million of the population. These qualifications were obtained largely by part time study at technical colleges. Their holders range from those, possibly rather less than one half, who eventually become members of Professional Institutions t o others who should be classed as high grade technicians.

4. N o comparable figures are available for those with lower qualifications. Their numbers have undoubtedly increased substantially since 1945, but not enough to keep pace with the demand.

U.S.A. 5. I n the U.S.A., with a population of 162 million, there are a large number of

institutions of university status which train engineers. There were produced from them, in 1954, a total of:

22,000 engineering graduates—134 per million of the population. This was less than half the output of 50,000 in 1950, when the age groups were larger and the total was swollen by ex-servicemen. The Americans estimate that the number will rise to 43,000 by 1964, following the bulge in the post-war birth rate.

6. The university courses leading to a bachelors degree in engineering in the U.S.A. usually last four years, but generally start from a lower standard than that of the normal entry to our universities. .. The standard of the U.S. Colleges, and of the. engineering graduates produced from them, varies greatly. Many American bachelor degrees are,, in technical subjects, little if any higher than the standard of the High National Certificate, but a considerable number of American graduates proceed to higher degrees.

'( ' )i ' - tea

7. Technicians in the United States come from three sources: holders of bachelor degrees, students.who spend one or two years at a university without attempting a degree, technicians trained by a number of " technical inst i tutes" and others trained on the job. Figures of the total output of technicians are not available, but it is authoritatively stated to be inadequate to supply the " th r ee to five engineering a i d e s " who are considered necessary to support every professional engineer.

8. The American authorities are known to be disturbed about the present output of both technologists and technicians and are understood to be anxious to expand it considerably. They are however faced with a very serious shortage of science teachers in the schools.

U.S*S.R* 9. The following information is taken from " Soviet Professional Manpower ",

a study published in 1955 by Mr. Nicholas de Witt of Harvard University. He says that the figures quoted are mostly estimates, compiled from a variety of sources, but carefully cross-checked ; they have been accepted by the United States National Science Foundation.

10. With a population of 214 million, the U.S.S.R. claim to be producing per a n n u m :

60,000 " professional engineers"—280 per million of the population. These qualify after courses of 5\ years at " specialist institutes ", where the standard is said to be high.

70,000 engineers—326 per million of the population, at the " Technicums ". These provide a four year course for students about half of whom have already had ten years schooling. The other half enter the " Technicum " at the age of fourteen, after only 7 years at school. The official aim is to limit the entry to " Technicums " to boys and girls who have had ten years at school.

.11. The Russians are clearly determined to produce the maximum number of scientists and technologists, and have announced a target of a 50 per cent, increase in the number of professional engineers. The general conclusion of a number of observers from this country who have visited Russia recently, as well as that of Mr. de Witt, is that the standard of Russian scientific and technological education is high. The numbers of engineers turned out are well ahead of any other country, both in absolute figures and per head of population. This is achieved in part by what some American observers described as a ruthless sacrifice of the arts—though the schooling of scientists and technologists is by no means narrow. Both in salaries and in other privileges, the careers of scientists, and technologists are made very attractive. Moreover, there is far larger use of woman-power in Russia than in any other country ; for example, about three-quarters of the medical doctors, and one quarter of the engineers, are women.

Western Europe 12. In Western Europe (except in Italy) the majority of professional engineers

are trained in specialised technical institutes of university status such as the well-known " Grandes Ecoles " of France and the " Technische Hochschulen " in Germany, Holland and Switzerland. The entrance requirements for these

; institutes are generally high, though broadly based, and the length of the course is usually four to five years and sometimes longer. The graduates from sUch institutes will thus in general have received more advanced technological training than is possible in the three year university course in Britain.

13. In addition, many countries have technical schools of a slightly lower status, such as the Dutch " Middelbare Technische Scholen" and the German " Fachschulen" . Unfortunately no comprehensive figures are available of the numbers trained in such schools, but the standard reached is thought to correspond very roughly with our Higher National Certificate. The Colleges are mainly full-time, and the course lasts some three-years.

. 14. Figures for the output in 1953 of technologists (and also of pure scientists) in Western European countries (other than Western Germany) , have been obtained through a questionnaire issued by the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation, and the results have recently been published. The figures give a total output for France, Italy, Western Germany (estimated), Switzerland, Scandinavia and the Low Countries in 1953 of:

12,054 graduates in technology—largely educated at the specialised technical institutions mentioned above. This figure is equivalent to 67 per million of the population, the figures for France, Western Germany, Switzerland and Italy being respectively: 70, 86, 82 and 39. These figuresexclude students trained in technical colleges or engineering schools.

15. By way of contrast, the O.E.E.C. returns show that theses countries produce, proportionately to the population, less than half the graduates in pure science produced in Great Britain (many of whom go into industry). The figure for Western Europe as a whole is 48 per million of the population, compared with our figure of 105 ; the Russian figure is 56. The relative importance which these countries attach to engineering is in itself instructive, and the standards achieved by the specialist institutes of technology in which most of these continental engineers are educated, set examples of quality which cannot be ignored.

APPENDIX B

N A T I O N A L A D V I S O R Y COUNCIL ON EDUCATION FOR INDUSTRY A N D COMMERCE

REPORT O N SANDWICH TRAINING A N D EDUCATION

1. The National Advisory Council have had under consideration for some time past the sandwich system of education and industrial training in which substantial full-time periods are given alternately to education and to training in industry, and the question of securing a greater degree of interest and co­operation by industry in the development of such courses as a step towards remedying the deficiency of technologists trained to professional level. Regional Advisory Councils have been consulted and discussions have been held with representatives of industry and everywhere the Council finds support for its view that all necessary steps should be taken for the development of sandwich courses and particularly of those leading to a high standard of professional training.

2. Sandwich courses are already in being at a number of technical colleges and these range from courses covering a period of 2 years leading to the Ordinary National Diploma to courses covering 4 to 5 years leading to the Higher National Diploma and College Associateships. Increasing interest has been shown in this kind of provision during the past twelve months and this stirring of interest is no doubt due to the discussions taking place both regionally and centrally which have resulted in a wider, though still limited, knowledge of the sandwich system and the opportunities it offers.

3. The National Advisory Council support the sandwich system of organisation of courses at all appropriate levels. They are, however, most strongly impressed with the opportunity which the system offers of developing schemes for training to professional level school leavers and other young people with ability to become professional engineers and technologists capable of filling responsible posts in industry. In view of the urgent need to increase the supply of engineers and technologists of this calibre there can be little room for doubt about the value of a system which provides another and complementary method of training to that whereby a young man undertakes a university course together with two years ' apprenticeship dn industry, and which is particularly suited t o those who wish to enter industry direct from school and who would benefit from studies being closely related to industrial experience.

4 . The Counci l have considered carefully the principles that need to be followed in the deve lopment of professional type sandwich courses in technical col leges and they offer the fo l lowing observations and recommendat ions for the M i n i s t e r s attention.

5. T h e professional type of sandwich course should normally cover a period of 4 to 5 years for selected students and should be of such a standard that it m a y be expected to satisfy the requirement for the new technological award to be administered by the Counci l over which Lord Hives presides. Students may n o w look to this new award for recognit ion of the successful comple t ion of high standard courses such as these and industry will have a measure of the quality of training and the level of ability of y o u n g people w h o attain this qualification.

6. While mainta in ing this standard, the content of the courses can be varied to meet particular technological and industrial needs and it is an essential feature of sandwich training that there must be close co-operat ion between the col lege and the industrial organisat ion concerned in the formulat ion and design of the course a n d the plans for l inking col lege education and industrial training in the most effective way. In general, however , the emphasis should be on training people to think and deve loping a critical mind. This can probably best be achieved by stressing fundamenta l science and study in the art of communicat ion . O n e aim of the courses should be to produce an awareness of the importance of h u m a n relations and of management techniques. In view of the importance of deve loping cost consciousness , some attention should also be given to the principles of economics . Opportunity for the students to live together as a c o m m u n i t y is mos t desirable.

7. The staffing of courses of this kind will of course, present n e w problems, for the col leges will not only need ful l-t ime staff of high quality but other specialist lecturers to provide part-time services during the day-t ime. It is essential, therefore, for industry to co-operate fully with the col leges in providing such specialists.

8. There is evidence that periods of 5 m o n t h s in the col lege and 7 months in the works or of about six months in each will normally be the most effective and convenient arrangements, but where these arrangements are found to present difficulties other periods can be adopted having regard to the needs of the particular industry and the need to even the load both in the col lege and in the works.

9. It is important that the col lege should maintain contact with the students during their works periods. Such contact might take the form of tutorial classes or guided studies.

10. T h e selection of students for this type of course needs particular care and the firm and the col lege should col laborate in selecting those entrants with the aptitude, ability and personal qualities necessary both for undertaking the training and proceeding to posts of responsibility. T h e several sources of recruits seem to be

(d) young people leaving school at 18 with two appropriate advanced level passes in the General Certificate of Educat ion ;

(b) selected employees w h o have obtained a g o o d Ordinary Nat ional Certificate, and

(c) young people with appropriate passes at ordinary level in the General Certificate of Educat ion w h o have been given a suitable preliminary or introductory course.

11. With large firms the groups may be big enough in each case to justify special provision and there should be no difficulty in securing satisfactory training during the works periods. In the case of medium sized firms there will be a nucleus of students available to enable students from smaller firms to complete a class. It may be desirable, however , for the college to arrange with a larger firm for some of the training facilities for those attending from the smaller firms.

There may be a need to organise col lege based courses for students entering upon training before taking u p employment in industry. These m a y either join up with works based students during the col lege periods or, if they are sufficient

ia number, form groups of their own. In either case it is hoped that firms will co-operate in assisting the college to provide satisfactory training facilities during the works periods ; and furthermore, that when the employers have had the opportunity of seeing the college based students during the first period in the works they may then be prepared to sponsor them as works based students. The main consideration is that industrial training should be broad and closely related to the education in the college, whether the students are works based or college based.

12. It is believed that the essential co-operation between the firms and colleges, both in the selection of the students and in their training, is greatly facilitated when firms sponsor their students during the whole of the period of training, whether in the college or works and pay their wages and college fees. This arrangement is already widely accepted by many firms which co-operate in this kind of training, for they have found that it fosters loyalty on the part of the students towards their employers and acts as a considerable stimulus to recruitment.

Not all firms may be in a position to help deserving students to the fullest extent required. In such cases suitable students should be able to look to local education authorities for adequate assistance, according to their needs. As these are courses of professional level, the students should be eligible for assistance on a similar basis to students going to university. Further, those who have the necessary ability and intend to pursue courses of sufficiently high level will have the opportunity to apply for Technical State Scholarships.

13. The Council understand that it is the normal policy of the Ministry to require student fees to be charged for courses of all kinds although provision is made for remission in cases of hardship. They feel that there are sound reasons why the normal policy should be followed in the case of sandwich courses. The fees charged by local education authorities are not economic fees and represent only a fraction of the actual cost to the authority of the provision it makes.

14. There should be the fullest regional consultation before new courses of this kind are started so as (a) to avoid duplication and consequent uneconomic use of staff and facilities and (b) to ensure that courses are located at centres which can best provide them in a proper environment and which offer suitable opportunities of continued contact between the firms, the colleges and the students. On the other hand it is essential for regional machinery to work promptly so as not to prejudice the negotiations between industry and the colleges or delay the establishment of courses.

15. It is an essential pre-requisite for the development of professional sandwich courses that local education authorities should plan out-county arrangements on a free trade basis especially where the courses are works based. Thus if a firm arranges with a particular college for a sandwich course to be provided for selected employees who may come from a wide area each local education authority should accept without question responsibility for the appropriate inter­autihority payment in respect of such of its own students as are accepted for admission to the course.

16. Where firms have factories in different parts of the country it will often be beneficial for students to go to Che different factories in turn for their industrial training and it is understood that in those cases where the firm certifies that suoh arrangements are being made, the student would not be regarded as belonging to the area of any one authority and consequently the pooling arrangements would opera ted

17. Finally, the National Advisory Council believe that this method of pro­viding the country with more technologists should be widely advertised as an

* Note.—Under the Local Education Authorities Recoupment (Further Education) Regulation, 1954, the full cost (less fees and main grant) of providing further education for students not regarded as belonging to the area of any local education authority is met from a central " pool " to which all authorities contribute.

additional means towards meeting a requirement that ds vital t o industry and, in fact, to the nation. T h e Council is aware that certain sections of industry are already coope ra t ing in the development of sandwich courses but the tempo should be quickened and the negotiations which the Ministry is conducting at the national level with industry should be supplemented by similar discussions at the regional level. It is hoped that this will be facilitated by arrangements which are being discussed between the Ministry and the Federation of British Industries.

Much of the success of these developments will depend o n the ability of the Ministry ajjd iflhe local education authorities to provide facilities. Improvements are required in the acooirnimodatdon and staffing at the technical colleges and many colleges require hostels. The mat ter ds urgent a n d the National Advisory Council hope that the necessary capital investment will be m a d e available for this purpose.

Signed on behalf of the Council, R. M. WEEKS,

Chairman.

6th February, 1956.

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