'Andy Burnham Has The Chance To Transform Britain By Closing The Respect Gap'

Writing for HuffPost UK, Labour MP Luke Charters called for a major change in the way Brits see work.

There’s a simple test for what Britain really believes about work. Ask yourself which job sounds more impressive: an electrician or an economist, a bricklayer or a banker.

Of course, all are valuable to society.

But if we are honest, people sometimes have instincts that place one above the other, and that tells us something about how different kinds of work are valued. Until we confront that, we will struggle to fix what is not merely a skills gap. It is a respect gap.

A few months ago, I toured Switzerland with their government and found something striking. There, vocational and academic routes do not compete. They sit alongside each other, with parity of esteem baked into their very constitution.

Two-thirds of young people choose a vocational route, and they value it. I met apprentices training as railway engineers alongside others who had followed the same path........

© HuffPost