In a week that saw a shake-up of the education system with the scrapping of national tests for 14-year-olds, Secretary of State Ed Balls said that school leavers need to be equipped with the right skills to enhance their employability.

Mr Balls was speaking at a networking lunch last Friday, organised by the CBI, sponsored by Cobbetts LLP and held at the law firm’s riverside offices in Leeds.

He addressed concerns that young people are leaving school without basic skills and declared greater emphasis should be given to apprenticeships, work experience and encouraging pupils to study STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths).

A Q&A session, hosted by Cobbetts’ senior partner, Stephen Benson, focused on how educational institutions can foster good relationships with local businesses and build on the schemes and apprenticeships that are already in place.

Stephen said: “We were delighted to host this event at our Leeds office and provide a platform for Ed Balls to engage with businesspeople from across the region.

“With the current volatility in the economy, it has never been more important to provide future generations with the skills necessary to ensure the UK’s continued national and international competitiveness. Cobbetts fully supports helping young people become assets to British business.”

Andrew Palmer, CBI’s Deputy Regional Director, added: “Regional business leaders were delighted to hear the Secretary of State’s commitment to improving key CBI priorities. It is vital that more school leavers have the essential literacy and numeracy skills needed for success in work and life, study triple science and enrol on high quality apprenticeships which meet business needs.”

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L- R: Andrew Palmer (CBI), Ed Balls and Stephen Benson (Cobbetts).