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Deep-sea oil drilling is an inherently dangerous business but a necessary one. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in April is proof of its hazards. BP's internal report into the spill, which it publishes today, draws attention to the errors and omissions which led to the tragedy, though the investigation on which it was based could not be conclusive. It also highlights the problems for the entire industry in maintaining a culture of safety for its workers, especially now that oil companies devolve so much of their construction work to outside contractors.
BP has got its report in first, before the US government's own investigation is published. It appears comprehensive insofar as it can be, without being able to test some of the defective parts of the structure. Its catalogue of fatal flaws lays some of the blame at its own door, without actually identifying its well design as a source of the problem. Naturally, that conclusion is vigorously disputed by the contractors on whom a share of the blame does fall in the report, including Transocean and Halliburton. Yet the point remains that BP was ultimately responsible for its contractors as well as its own operations. And there is also the question of whether cost-cutting at BP, not just under the hapless Tony Hayward, but under his predecessor, compromised safety. That needs more soul-searching.
This is not the last word, let alone the last report, on this terrible accident but it sets the scene for those that follow. Meanwhile, the whole oil industry should be taking its lessons to heart.
The right skills
Every education secretary at some point tries to address the undervaluing of vocational skills. Michael Gove, the present Education Secretary, has announced a review of vocational qualifications for 14-19 year-olds which will conclude next spring. It is a good beginning. The review will engage with some of the real problems bedevilling non-academic subjects, notably whether they actually prepare young people for the workplace. And it will deal with the question of whether there needs be an official quality “benchmark” to regulate qualifications.
Mr Gove is making a point of tackling standards in academic education: he has encouraged schools to focus on serious subjects and wants examinations to be more rigorous. And some of that emphasis will benefit pupils with a vocational bent. The truth is that basic numeracy and literacy is at least as important for employers as more specialist qualifications and schools have failed adequately to deliver those basic skills. But concurrent with the attempt to raise the bar for academic education there needs to be greater recognition for the value of vocational skills. Ensuring the rigour of vocational qualifications is, in the long term, in the interests of employers, the economy and the pupils themselves.
Damilola's legacy
Today's call from the Damilola Taylor Trust over the release of one of the boy's killers is both magnanimous and sensible. The Trust, set up after the 10-year-old's killing by gang members in 2000, works to stop violence in inner-city areas: it has called for proper mentoring for his killer, Ricky Preddie, who was released yesterday. Preddie committed a terrible crime, but like other young men in his position, he has few prospects on coming out of prison: without intensive mentoring, many like him return to crime. That would be the worst outcome for this tragic case: our most troubled neighbourhoods need healing as well as retribution.
Reader views (1)
are you sure they were using cement, or was it pollyfila
- james, london.E12, 09/09/2010 20:04
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