The Paragon - NWET&D - Business-Politics-&-Education-1

The company, now the third-biggest manufacturer of construction equipment in the world, is in talks with government officials about starting up its own line in qualifications that, if completed, would secure teenagers a job interview with the company.
The "digger diplomas" would form the first scheme of its kind in the UK and is aimed at tackling industry-wide concerns that the British education system is not "fit for purpose".
David Bell, JCB's chief development officer and manufacturing veteran, told The Daily Telegraph that school pupils who achieved a good grade in certain subjects, such as maths, physics, engineering and English, would earn a certificate, awarded by the national examining body, the OCR, and backed by the Royal Academy of Engineering, and the chance to land an apprenticeship at the company.
Sir Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, wrote a report for David Cameron on the decline of manufacturing in the UK.
Among his suggestions for change, Sir Anthony called on the Coalition to improve education.
However, the Government recently downgraded the engineering diploma from the equivalent of five GCSEs to one last month, "devaluing" its worth in schools despite the Coalition's drive to rebalance the economy towards advanced manufacturing.
Mr Bell, who joined JCB in 1974, said: "Downgrading the engineering diploma is not helpful. The great thing we're doing - and the great thing the engineering diploma did which the Government didn't get - is that a scheme like this sets you up for a career path.