Free lifelong education will be made available under Labour, Jeremy Corbyn vowed today as he demanded the state seize control of more of the economy.
The Labour leader said private firms would destroy jobs if left unchecked as he warned ‘public institutions’ were needed to manage ‘rapid technological change’.
In a speech to the British Chambers of Commerce, Mr Corbyn said he believed his education initiative would help overhaul the economy in favour of workers while increasing productivity.
The Labour leader moved to capitalise on his surprise election surge by expanding on his vision for a ‘national education service’ similar to the NHS.
He is set to begin a tour of Tory marginal seats in a bid to demonstrate Labour is a ‘government in waiting’.
Free lifelong education will be made available under Labour, Jeremy Corbyn (pictured today in London) vowed as he demanded the state seize control of more of the economy
The Labour leader said ‘Britain has been living through a lost decade’ and only his plans would address the problems in the economy.
He said: ‘It is by investing in our education system that we can end the spread of low-paid, low-skilled, insecure work by providing the skilled workforce that businesses need if they are to create high-skilled, better-paid jobs.
‘That’s why our manifesto set out plans to build a National Education Service, providing lifelong education and training, free at the point of use, to every single person in this country.
‘Our National Education Service will be the key institution of fairness and prosperity for the 21st Century, just as the NHS transformed people’s prospects in the 20th century.’
Mr Corbyn claimed he was not a ‘doom-monger’ when it comes to the impact of major technological change on employment.
Mr Corbyn said the technological revolution would mean ‘churn’ in the jobs market as old skills were replaced with new ones (file picture at the Toyota factory in Derby)
But he warned: ‘At every stage of economic and industrial history, jobs, industries and skills have been lost, replaced and transformed.
‘But whether that happens at huge social cost, as it did, for example, in the early days of the industrial revolution and the Luddites, or is embraced and benefits everybody, depends on managing and planning for technological change.
‘We can’t simply leave it to the market.
We need public institutions, public investment and public enterprise to work with business to manage the social and economic effects of rapid technological change so that it benefits the many not the few.’
Mr Corbyn said the technological revolution would mean ‘churn’ in the jobs market as old skills were replaced with new ones.
He said: ‘That means we will need to invest in a step change in skills and training to upgrade the skills of the existing workforce and make sure everyone is able to retrain at any point in life to meet the changing needs of the economy.’
[“Source-dailymail”]
