Western countries are heading for a crisis. Young people are not being taught skills that are of use in the workforce. Australia under Prime Minister Tony Abbott is moving back to the three "Rs" - reading, writing and arithmetic in schools. However, it will take at least a decade for this to take effect.
It looks unlikely that future Australian governments will keep this change going. More and more irrelevant subjects are being introduced into an already crowded curriculum. Students are studying different things. There is no uniformity in education.
Will we reach a stage where machines run the world and there are no technicians with the skills to repair them? This is a strong possibility. It is just a short step back to primitivism, back to the stone age.
Students are not applying to enter the scientific field. Scientists are an aging bunch. Much research funding is channelled to them because they have proven themselves. Bodies with funds do not have any faith in new science graduates.
The skill shortage is not only in science. It is not possible for everyone to be employed at the checkout where computerized tills do the adding up and show the exact change to give. This is now an unskilled job. When the older generation of tradees retire there will be no young eager people to do the work. The government is not listening. Funding on TAFE education has fallen dramatically.
Funny Animal Pictures by Ty Buchanan
