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Jamie Oliver: Give us apprentices, not more graduates
Last updated at 22:22pm on 13.01.07
Jamie Oliver has called on the Government to cut the number of teenagers going to university - and demanded the return of apprenticeships.
Oliver, who has trained hundreds of cooks through his Fifteen restaurants, attacked Labour's drive to increase the number of students taking academic courses.
• Read the full interview with Jamie Oliver by clicking here
In an interview with The Mail on Sunday's Live magazine, he said: "It is terrible that the Government has shut down all those places where kids learned a trade or an apprenticeship. If you've ever tried to find a decent builder you'll sympathise with me on this one - there is absolutely no one out there because we're throwing away all our trades."
Despite a recent survey in which a quarter of employers cited apprenticeships as more worthwhile than degrees, the Government is backing a massive expansion of higher education. Ministers want 50 per cent of youngsters to be on university courses by 2010.
But Oliver said: "Not everyone is right for university and there aren't enough jobs for graduates anyway. There are kids who can't get into places like that but haven't got the options of trades and apprenticeships. They haven't been taught to have pride in what they can do."
In 2002 Oliver began training disadvantaged youths to work in his London restaurant Fifteen. He has since set up similar ventures in Cornwall, Amsterdam and Melbourne.
"Part of the Fifteen idea is that whole apprenticeship thing. Cooking isn't about being good at exams. I've got graduates all over the world working in the best places. I want this to go on and on,' said the chef.
It is not the first time Oliver has clashed with the Government. In 2005 he attacked the poor quality of school meals. Ministers eventually responded by providing an extra £220million to be spent on making dinners more nutritious.
The Department for Education and Skills said: "The number of apprenticeships is up from 75,000 in 1997 to 250,000 today. Research shows employers value an apprenticeship over any other qualification."
