策劃、編譯■李威撰、謝雯伃

公共政策專家吳爾夫去年9月接受英國教育大臣戈夫的請託，

針對職訓課程進行研究，調查如何改進實用型教育。

吳爾夫表示，政府補助許多不具價值的職業學校訓練課程，

全國約有40萬名青少年，將時間耗費在這些無助於未來求職及進修的學習上。

▲吳爾夫建議，職業教育學生若在普通中學教育文憑考試中搞砸英數兩科，未來仍要繼續補強。對想要再繼續進修的學生來說，普通教育高級程度證書（A-Level）考試中，英數兩科仍要拿到C才能達到合格標準。圖為威辛頓女子學校學生在打開A-Level成績單時露出緊張的神情。（圖／路透）

一份3日出版的報告指出，雖然英國許多職業訓練課程改善青少年在全國學校評鑑中的表現，但卻沒有幫助年輕人做好進入大學或是求職的準備。

Many of Britiain's vocational （1） courses for teenagers improve school league table （2） performance but do not help the young people taking them to get into university or find a job, a report published on Thursday said.

這項由英國教育大臣戈夫所委託的獨立報告發現，學校因為要提升自身在學校評鑑中的地位，事實上讓數十萬接受職業訓練課程的青少年進入「死胡同」。

The independent review commissioned by the Education Secretary found schools were entering hundreds of thousands of teenagers for "effectively dead-end （3）" vocational programmes to try to boost their position in performance tables.

撰寫《吳爾夫報告》的吳爾夫表示：「英國有1／4到1／3的16歲以上學生接受職業資格教育訓練，但這項訓練的主要內容，卻只符合最低標準的職業要求，絕大部分不具有勞動市場價值。」吳爾夫在國王學院公共管理系擔任教授。

"The staple offer for between a quarter and a third of the post-16 cohort is a diet of low-level vocational qualifications, most of which have little to no labour market value," said Alison Wolf, author of the Wolf Report and professor of Public Sector Management at King's College.

她的研究發現，至少35萬名16到19歲之間的年輕人「無法或鮮少」從16歲以後的教育制度中獲得好處。

Her findings suggest that at least 350,000 young people between the ages of 16 and 19 derive "little to no benefit" from the post-16 education system.

青年失業率屢攀新高，成為英國舉國上下關切的問題。最新數字顯示，24歲以下年輕人的失業率幾乎高達20％。

Youth unemployment is a growing concern in Britain where latest figures show the jobless rate is almost 20 percent for those aged 24 or under.

「政府所實施的教育補貼和績效責任制度，扭曲了16歲以上學生的動機，讓他們去選擇品質較差的替代資格課程。」吳爾夫在報告中寫道。

"The funding and accountability systems established by the government create perverse incentives （4） to steer 16 students into inferior alternative qualifications," Wolf wrote.

她的報告建議，政府應把職業資格課程從評鑑中移除。吳爾夫也建議政府，補助提供具教育意涵實習機會的雇主，並呼籲社會提供16到19歲青少年更多工作機會，這樣他們才能夠「發展出勞動市場所明確重視的工作技能」。

Her report suggests excluding vocational qualifications from league tables. Wolf also recommends providing subsidies to employers who offer apprenticeships （5） with a general education element and calls for more work placement opportunities for 16 to 19 year-olds so they can "develop the general skills which the labour market demonstrably values."

吳爾夫也發現，雖然一般來說，學生在普通中學教育文憑考試（GCSE）中，英語及數學成績要有C才能夠找到工作或是繼續升學。全英國卻只有不到50％的學生能在18歲以前達到標準。

Wolf also found that while pupils normally needed to gain at least grade C in GCSE English and Maths to find employment or continue their education, less than 50 percent of pupils had gained both by the age of 18.

這份報告指出，在普通中學教育文憑考試中，英語和數學考不好的學生，應該要在16歲以後的教育中，繼續學習這2門科目。

The report says young people who do not achieve good grades in their GSCE Maths and English exams should have to continue studying these subjects in their post-16 education.

教育大臣戈夫在去年9月委託吳爾夫進行這項調查，起因是他覺得英國的教育體制太過重視學術成就，而不夠重視實用教育，這讓雇主傷透腦筋。戈夫表示，要支撐英國的經濟復甦，勢必要改正這項不平衡。

Education Secretary Michael Gove commissioned the review last September because he felt the British education system placed too much emphasis on academic achievements, whilst not valuing practical education highly enough, failing employers. He said redressing this imbalance was essential to support Britain's economic recovery.

（路透Reuters）

1. vocational

(a.) 職業的

2. league table

(n.) 排行榜、積分榜

3. dead-end

(n.) 死巷、絕境

4. incentive

(n.) 激勵、刺激

5. apprenticeship

(n.) 學徒制

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