GSD questions Govt’s plans for school and training

The GSD has accused the Gibraltar Government of ‘neglecting’ local schools and ‘abandoning’ training.
The Opposition said the government had yet to lay a brick in relation to the five schools it promised in its manifesto at the last general election.
It said there was no sign that the government was putting education at the top of the political agenda.
The GSD said the situation with training was “even worse”, insisting the Future Job Strategy had failed to deliver “on every level” and despite costing the community over £10m a year.
The party added that the government’s answers to questions in Parliament on both education and training had been “lazy and evasive” and showed “a real lack of commitment and vision” on education and training.
“The Government is clearly putting the brakes on education and other important areas of domestic policy,” said Elliott Phillips, the GSD MP who shadows education, apprenticeships, skills and young people.
“Whilst challenges that face us are indeed significant, we cannot sit back and ignore the educational and training needs of our young people.”
Mr Phillips said Brexit must be seen as an opportunity to showcase Gibraltar by focusing efforts on building a well educated and skilled workforce for the future.
“We must develop better opportunities for our young people so that they are encouraged and inspired in skilled trades and the new technologies,” he said.
“By placing our young people in dead end jobs we are depriving them of opportunity, worse still we are condemning them to a life of dissatisfaction and little hope.”
“The failure to set out how the Government intends to build five new schools in 2 1/2 years is nothing short of astonishing.”
“Where are the plans? What are the results of the consultation on the new schools and on co-education?”
“The Government has abandoned and neglected ordinary working families and now they are doing the same with the education and training of our young people.”