I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that young people going directly into retail jobs have poor functional numeracy or literacy. Firstly, those with acad

I don’t think it’s particularly surprising that young people going directly into retail jobs have poor functional numeracy or literacy. Firstly, those with academic skills or other skills will either be getting further education or going into a trade. So you’re left with quite a specific group of people. Then consider- is this specific to this group? I got a masters in engineering, when I turned up on day 1 was I a good engineer? No, I had very little practical experience and that matters. The idea that education makes you ready for a job is a slightly absurd standard unless we re-work our education system to have a far more practical set of courses. We can do that but that will equally have short comings.