AM I right in thinking the Government is proposing that some form of a degree be offered to those who complete an apprenticeship?

If so, it’s about time that those employed in trades receive the recognition that they deserve because, let’s face it, these are the people that drive the economy but, strangely, still seem to be under-appreciated.

For school leavers, the flavour of the moment seems to be university, no doubt in the belief that a degree is a guaranteed passport to highly paid work.

The problem with the top universities is they originated as a means of giving those from the upper or ruling classes training for the church, or something for them to do until they inherit from their parents. One gets the feeling that the ghost of the past still hangs over them.

My guess is Brookes University prepares more people for a working life than any of the major universities, probably because those at Brookes know what they are there for.

I recall a programme in which Arnold Weinstock, chairman of GEC, bemoaned the fact he could not find high-flyers to train as chemists or engineers.

On the programme were students of the type he needed who were asked if they were prepared to take training at GEC – their reply was no, because it sounded like hard work.

One thing I’ve noticed is that employers who want to take on apprentices these days often get sent the long-term unemployed. Generally, these are not of the standard required. When I think about those of my ancestors who were trained as apprentices I marvel at how rich they became and wonder why not now?

Perhaps there was something special about the past that the present does not offer.

DERRICK HOLT, Fortnam Close, Headington, Oxford