Widespread agreement about the inspirational excellence of Sir Tom Hunter's speech to the 7th Business in Parliament Conference on Friday, which touched on one of his favourite themes, the snootiness of the educational establishment in Scotland towards vocational education.
This, he implied, was not unrelated to our notorious deficit in entrepreneurial spirit.
The root of the problem, as Enterprise Minister Fergus Ewing hinted, is that the receptivity of Scottish schools and education authorities towards business engagement is decidedly patchy. Given the small-c conservatism of many Scottish teachers – and those who train them – it is hard to see how this is going to change: witness the problems facing Mike Russell in implementing the Curriculum for Excellence.
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