WHEN he first took office, one of Tony Blair’s rallying cries was ‘Education, Education, Education’, in the firm belief that if everyone went to university it would kick-start the economy. I personally think that this idea was a grave mistake.

Now some teenagers, when asked what they hope to do when they leave school, reply “go to university” without any idea what they wish to study. Which brings me to the remarks made by Nigel Wild, (Oxford Mail, July 23) in which he states we need to be training people at the technical level. Who’s “we” and where are the trainable people coming from if all of those that are suitable are at university?

These days, some employers seem to think that fully-trained people can be had off the shelf. There was a time when the major employers regularly took in apprentices, often in greater numbers than they needed for their own replacement, thus, producing a pool of skilled people on which others could draw.

In the case of my son’s business, refrigeration and air conditioning, all new employees have to be apprenticed to the firm since there are no replacements off the shelf.

Refrigeration is a highly complex trade that needs to employ high-flyers and not the leftovers who can’t get to university.

Unfortunately, many who leave university find that there is no work. They try to get into a trade but, beside the fact that these graduates think their degree makes them more valuable, they are now too old to start training after wasting what the employer believes to be their best learning years.

DERRICK HOLT Fortnam Close Headington Oxford