{"id":91887,"date":"2019-08-02T15:11:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-02T22:11:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=91887"},"modified":"2019-08-02T15:11:04","modified_gmt":"2019-08-02T22:11:04","slug":"ideas-to-make-britain-great-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2019\/08\/02\/ideas-to-make-britain-great-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideas to make Britain great again."},"content":{"rendered":"

Garvin Karunaratne.M.Ed, Manchester, M.Phil.Edinburgh, Ph.D. Michigan State University.<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Introduction<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my own life as an automobile owner \u2013 all my earlier cars were\nmade in Great Britain- a Hillman Minx,  a Humber Hawk, a Vauxhall Cresta,\na Morris Oxford. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in the Sixties, That Humber\nHawk was a dependable, comfortable great car, comparable to any BMW  of\ntoday. Yet Britain lost its grip on its manufacturing base. Now Britain does\nnot make a single car. The Land Rover and a few other makes are all owned by\nforeigners. British craftsmanship and workmanship has eroded to nothing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain has become a nation of talkers. As a Social Worker in\nManchester, a Senior Community Worker in Edinburgh and as a Lecturer at\nWestminster we did well in providing services, but the manufacturing economy\nhas grounded to a halt. German owned Supermarkets Ali and Lidl sell in the UK\nmany small manufactures made in Germany    \nat prices lower than Chinese products. \nThis indicates that there is room for Britain to make a comeback in\nmaking items that are imported from China. Today building homes and apartments\nis talked of as development. There is little talk of rebuilding our\nmanufacturing base to give a strong foundation to our economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In 1980, in Edinburgh, \n I was  the Senior Community Education Worker  in Wester Hailes,\nEdinburgh and  the Warden of Clovenstone Community Center. We then had a\nrepertoire of youth and community development programmes. It is a crime ridden\nno go area today whereas when I was there we used to  travel all over the housing estate even at\nmidnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, I was also supervising a few  lads under the Youth\nOpportunity Programme(YOP) and the Special Temporary Employment\n{Programme(STEP) of the Manpower Services Commission, the one and\nonly occasion when Britain tried to grapple with unemployment. The lads were to\nbe acclimatized into community and youth work. They acquitted themselves very\nwell, were very useful and I was struck with their ability. They were all\nschool leavers who failed to  enter the portals of higher studies. They\nwere paid a allowance for two years and  thereafter got lost.  The only job they\nfound was to join the army and  later I\nwas sad to come to know  that some lads\nhad become cannon fodder in foreign lands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The  two premier programmes of the Manpower Services\nCommission- the YOP and STEP actually took away two of the most formative years\nof the life of a youth, leaving them nothing other than  to hog the queues\nof the Social Security System that gave them a meager living grant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suggested that instead, these youths should be guided to\nfollow a special intensive course in a vocation of their choice- where they\nwould be able to work towards making something that was imported. Many are the\nColleges of Education  in Edinburgh that excel in providing \nvocational and technical education which train youths for  a year and\naward them a certificate. Left on their own to find a job in a free market\neconomy with imports being the order of the day, they inevitably fail and have\nto be satisfied with  social security grants\nand end scraping the barrel for life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I  wrote a  Memorandum detailing how the youths under\nthe Manpower Service Programmes, should instead follow a few tailor made\nintensive but short six months\u2019 courses run by Colleges of Education in an area\nof their choice where they would after a grounding in basic skills and use of\nmachinery identify  saleable items that can be made,  and make such\nitems as a part of their course. Then the Marketing Lecturers, the professional\nin economics of the Colleges of Education who normally held courses in\nmarketing on a simulated basis  with  paper and pen, chalk  and\ntalk, will take charge and get involved in actually  marketing the product\nmade by the youths offering the chance to enable the youth to build up their\nabilities in the art of marketing. The Vocational Training Units in the\nColleges of Education would continue to guide the entrepreneurs till their\nenterprises become commercially viable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Report was submitted to the Director of Community\nEducation,  the late Peter Williamson, who full of enthusiasm submitted it\nfor approval by the Education Committee of the Lothian Regional Council. It was\nintensely debated, but the Labour Party stalwarts  in power wanted to put off its implementation\ntill Labour ruled the country. That was the time when the Conservatives ruled\nfor long. I was given a commendation and that was all. This happened in\n1981.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was wasting my time in Edinburgh doing sweet nothing\nworthwhile and     quit to Bangladesh in\ntwo years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Later,  in 1989, I was a Lecturer at Westminster Adult Education\nInstitute in London- my job was in community education- to assess the needs of\nthe community, draw up courses of study find suitable lecturers and implement\nthem. The Institute had an array of vocational courses \u2013 in painting, ceramics,\nwood work etc and the trainees were trained and for practice purposes they made\nmany a something that were never saleable. I prepared a Report where I urged\nthat the trainees should be  more\nintensively trained and taught  to make a saleable product . Then\nthe  economics  lecturers of the\nInstitute will guide them in the rigours of marketing and ultimately guide the\ntrainee to become an entrepreneur.  My ideas were booted out  and\nthat idea died a natural death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great Britain has in the meantime continued its way down hill.  \nIt is no longer a manufacturing hub. Germany and France have taken over that\nrole. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2019, the  citizens of Great Britain decided to get away\nfrom  being a member of the European Union. Having joined later, Britain\nhad to play a second fiddle  to both France and Germany.,  The people\nhad got sick of Britain as a member of the EU because immigrants from the poor\ncountries of Europe have swarmed in droves, enjoying the social security\nsystem  the health services, with Britain failing to cope.    \nGreat Britain   voted to leave. Instead of acting on it in a straight\nforward manner, calling it a day and going it alone as advised by \nPresident Trump, Prime Minister Theresa May went licking the boots of EU\nleaders to get privileges for Great Britain.. She came   back empty\nhanded, ridiculed and ignored. Now on 23 rd July 2019, a new Prime Minister Mr\nBoris Johnson was elected as the Prime Minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. My experience and achievements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me detail two \nprogrammes which I myself created and established  successfully.  This is important because\nI am suggesting major ideas and those who read should know that I speak through\nsheer experience as a battle  hardened\nprofessional someone who has established at least one employment creation\nprogramme that has stood the test of time. It is also necessary that none can\nsay that I speak from hearsay- without facts. Here I was in sole charge in the\ndesign and implementation and no one can doubt the success recorded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One such programme is the Youth Self Employment Programme of\nBangladesh. I left my post in Community Education in Edinburgh to assume\nduties as the Commonwealth Fund Advisor in Youth Development in Bangladesh. The\nMinistry had an array of youth activities in social,  and cultural areas\nand also provided vocational training to 40,000 youths a year in an array of\nsome thirty vocations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Military took over the country in a bloodless coup  d\u2019etat in one night. The Military viewed\nyouth work activities with scorn,  Within a day or two a meeting was held\nto abolish or scale down youth activities with the Minister for Labour and\nManpower Mr Aminul Islam in the chair. He went through the programmes that were\nbeing implemented and was very critical. Realizing me as the only outsider he\ncalled for my designation  and when told that I was the Commonwealth Fund\nAdvisor to the Ministry, ordered me  to\nstate the contribution I could make for Bangladesh. I responded that with\n40,000 youths being trained annually, with   most of them remaining\nunemployed at the end, we should have a self employment programme  as an\nintegral part of vocational training to guide the trainees to become\nentrepreneurs The Secretary to the Treasury, the highest administrator in\nBangladesh quoting the miserable failure of an attempt by the International\nLabour Organization(ILO) to create a self employment programme  a few\nyears earlier, said that I was suggesting something that could  never be\nachieved which will inevitably result in wasting funds. I contested and said\nthat though the ILO failed I could assure success. My heated arguments with the\nSecretary to the Treasury and a few other Secretaries of key Ministries went on\nfor over two hours till the Hon Minister had enough of it and  stopped all\nof us arguing. He said that I had convinced him and immediately approved my\ndesigning and establishing a self employment programme.  The Secretary to\nthe Treasury stumped the proposal  by\ndeclaring  that he will not provide any\nfunds to which I replied that I needed no new funds and will manage the additional\nwork within the approved youth training budget by finding savings within votes\nand re-drafting the work remits of officers. This was approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 I started training the\nstaff as well as the trainees the very next day. In the next 18 months, before\nI completed my two year assignment I had trained 2000 youths and of my starter\nyouths easily seventy five percent were all successful entrepreneurs. I had\ndesigned a programme that intensively guided the trained you to become\nentrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I  had trained the entire staff of youth workers in\neconomics and in the art of involving youths in self employment- building their\nabilities and capacity while working   to\nbecome entrepreneurs. This Programme is today the premier programme of\nemployment creation the world has known and had guided two million youths to\nbecome successful entrepreneurs by 2011. This Programme today guides 160,000\nyouths a year. It is a hard programme that does not provide funds for nothing\nbut intensively guided the youths. It provided training and youth workers- now\nturned to be economic development  specialists guided them on a daily\nbasis to success. Even today(2019) 36 years later, 95% of the work of the\nMinistry of Youth Development lies in motivating and guiding the youths to\nbecome self employed, the only such programme in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was what I had suggested to establish in Edinburgh.\nEdinburgh\u2019s failure was Bangladesh\u2019s success.  Great Britain could do with\na self employment programme on a national basis making what the country needs by\nmarshalling its youths. Unfortunately youth development has been neglected in\nGreat Britain and many cities have youth unemployment at 40%. . The Colleges of\nEducation have talented lecturers and Community Education officials can easily\nprovide expertise. Community development, the core method of building up the\nabilities and capacities of people was a discipline taught at the University of\nManchester where I was a student and secured the Diploma with Distinction and\nthe Masters Degree, has stopped teaching that subject. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establising a Crayon Factory. Another achievement  of\nmine, comes from Sri Lanka. It happened when the Ministry of Plan\nImplementation refused to approve. import substitution type of  programmes\nfor implementation in my District. As the Commissioner(called Government Agent\nin Sri Lanka) of the District, I took over the leading school science lab in\nthe evenings for experimenting  to find the art of making crayons. The\nLeader was my Planning Officer who was a chemistry graduate. We did a myriad of\nexperiments for close upon three months every evening till midnight\nworking locked up in the science lab and found the art of making crayons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this success I established a Crayon Factory Cooperative\nIndustry at Morawaka in three weeks working day and night with my Planning\nOfficer  along with a few other  officers training youths in the art of making\ncrayons and in quality control. It was a handmade crayon like most Chinese\nproducts today.  This Coop Crayon Factory  was a great success  had expanded to have islandwide sales and\nbecame the flagship project of the Divisional Development Councils Programme ,\nthe major success of the 1970-77 Government of Prime Minister Sirimavo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Employment Creation Programmes submitted for consideration<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(1)  A Self Employment\nProgramme<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Great Britain with its excellence and expertise in Universities\nand Colleges of Education can easily take on the mantle to get the youths in\ntraining to get down to production and to guide them till they are successful-\na replica of the  Youth Self Employment\nProgramme of Bangladesh, the premier employment creation programme the world\nhas known. The  basis is that the\nlecturers who train the youth  will also guide the youths if  they are willing to venture out to make\nthings for sale. To my own knowledge the Lecturers at Colleges of Education in\nEdinburgh as well as at Westminister do have the ability to guide their\nstudents to become entrepreneurs. I am doubly certain of this fact. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The science laboratories in Colleges of Education are far more\nequipped than the Science lab that I used to find the art of making\ncrayons.  It follows that the Colleges of Education can easily find the\nmethod of manufacturing imported items and get going with establishing\nproduction cooperatives manned by youths working under the guidance of the\nLecturers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Programme will be following the Buy American pattern pf\nPresident Trump. In my working life in the UK I have found  communities rife with patriotism, specially\nin Scotland. This programme can be charged with patriotism and I can assure\nsuccess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would urge that this Programme be accepted for immediate\nimplementation. I am certain of success and can build this to bring great\npopularity to anyone that spearheads. It requires only one charismatic\nutterance from our new  Prime Minister\nand this will get the Colleges of Education that trains youths in industry\ncracking and with support from local councilors and politicians,  I can assure \nsuccess within a year. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Britain has not had any attempt at national development since\nthe days of the Manpower Commission of the Fifties.  It is time that a new initiative is  made..<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2)Community Cooperatives \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is necessary  to detail  another essential factor\nin the task of employment creation. . In Edinburgh, the most successful\nmanufacturing industry was Edinburgh Crystal, a cut glass crystal\nmanufacturer  at Peniquik. Established as far back as 1867, it was a show\npiece of Scottish workmanship. In 2006, Edinburgh Crystal was purchased lock\nstock and barrel by Waterford Wedgewood, another Crystal Manufacturer from out\nof Scotland who inherited its sales, but stopped the Edinburgh Factory. Its\ntrained workforce of some one hundred or more were cast on the heap of the unemployed.\nOn my numerous visits to Edinburgh Crystal I had seen the craftsmen at work.\nThey were really skilled workmen who had been at the task for decades. I\nconsider the closure of such a vibrant and successful manufacturing industry as\na disaster for Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On inquiries I found that Edinburgh Crystal was an industry that\nwas very hale and hearty. It was highly profitable and that was the very reason\nwhy another multinational had its eyes on it. It was success for the intruder,\nbut a great loss for Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A similar loss happened in Canada<\/em>. That was Blue\nMountain Pottery of Ontario an industry that began in 1953. Its animal\nfigurines, vases and jugs etc adorned the show cases at Harrods and Selfridges.\nThough it was a profitable concern the owners were not satisfied with the\nprofit and closed it down in 2004. I happened to visit it at its closure and\nspoke to the workers who were being laid out. They were  a hundred or more\ntrained craftsmen destined to the scrap heap of unemployment though their\nproducts have today become well priced collectors items.. This was a great loss\nfor Canada as Blue Mountain Pottery had finalized a rare process of fineness in\npottery  which could have taken on like the  world famous Lladro of\nSpain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closure of Edinburgh Crystal and Blue Mountain Pottery, both\nextremely successful enterprises also brings to light the ills of the private\nsector. In neoliberal economics which UK follows. It has to be understood that\nthe motto of the Private Sector is to make a profit and the development of the\ncountry comes second  For systematic\ndevelopment of a lasting nature the Private Sector has to be guided by the\nState. It is the State that is interested in development. The State has to\nharness the Private Sector for development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer lies in community cooperatives where the workers as\nwell as communities tie up to establish and run manufacturing industries. Here\nwith success the venture stays in the place of origin providing work for the\npeople and the enterprise can be developed with resources from the community.\nIt will not fall a prey to venture capitalists that may acquire, move it or\nclose it down. The UK has a developed cooperative network which is vibrant in\nareas like Scotland. This cooperative network can be harnessed for the cause of\ncreating employment under this Programme.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In any attempt to bring about employment creation, it is also\nnecessary to plan for the emergence of cooperatives where the community too\nwill be involved as much as the youth of that community will be the workers.\nThen the industry that is created will have a community base where members of\nthat community will take the lead to work with the workers to ensure success in\nmanufacture and sales. This is found necessary because even worker cooperatives\nwith success on their hands can  move their ventures  from their area to areas of affluence leaving\nthe area where they emerged.  In this task a major role has to be played\nby  Community Education, regional and city councils as well as by Colleges\nof Education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In WesterHailes, Edinburgh, if by any chance my suggestions of\n1980 had been approved to make entrepreneurs out of the youths in training,\nable experienced community members were always willing to offer a hand to make\nthem a success. Then once an industry is established it will be the guarded\ntreasure of the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An important aspect re cooperatives is that the profits go to\nthe cooperative  and the cooperative workers. The funds in the cooperative\nare for future development of the cooperative enterprise. The current model of\nenterprise development in the capitalist world is the public company, where the\ncapital is provided by nonworking investors who hold shares and  the\npayment they expect is in the dividends. In the cooperative model profit making\nis not the aim. Instead the aim is the development of the country, the creation\nof employment and bringing about production causing national development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(3) Harnessing the Private Sector for Development<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In development the private sector has to be harnessed for the\nachievement of development goals. As much as there are private entrepreneurs\nwho may be interested, they are also worried about a possible failure with\nmajor losses. This has to be combated by the State identifying areas of\nactivity  with a potential for\ninvestment, developing local resources or to combat imports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 In this connection a\nfurther  lesson can be quoted from Sri Lanka. In the Fifties and Sixties\nthe Green Revolution was taking place apace in Sri Lanka and  the country\ndid not have the capacity to mill the paddy to rice. The Department for\nDevelopment of Agricultural Marketing that handled rice milling imported a few\nrice mills and installed them at vantage places in the producing areas. Next\nthe Department drafted plans for the establishment of small scale rice mills\nand called for applications from investors. The machinery that had to be\nimported was detailed and the Structures and buildings that had to be built\nlike floor space for the machinery and drying floors were detailed. The private\nsector entrepreneurs were offered an allocation of foreign exchange to import\nthe machinery. At this time foreign exchange allocations were required for\nimports. An investor  could come forward and was guided in the investment.\nI happened to be in charge of the Southern Province and many millers who came\nforward had to abide by the rules in installation. I supervised the rice mills\nbeing installed. The rice miller was given an allocation of paddy on a weekly\nbasis for milling for which he got paid. This was a great success and overnight\nwe built up a capacity to mill the paddy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This details the  strategy for the State to play a major\nrole in development, harnessing the investors in the country.  This\nleadership is essential as otherwise individual investors will not find the\nbacking to forge ahead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

(4) Identifying Engines of Growth for Areas of Britain <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is also necessary that the different areas in Great Britain\ndo decide on the  engines of growth, depending on available\nresources.  To start with Great Britain can be divided into England, Wales\nand Scotland and a group of experts covering industry, community work,\nengineering and education should undertake to arrive at the engines of growth\nfor the area. For instance in Scotland, Wales and certain areas in England,\ntourism is an engine of growth. Accomodation has to be made available at\nreasonable rates. The equal of Premier Inn and Travelodge have to be opened in\nareas where  there are glorious views. There has to be parking places\nwhere tourists can park their vehicles and enjoy the scenery.  Further\nthere have to be facilities provided to motorists to rent recreation vehicles,\nmotor caravans, motor homes to tour the area. The services of institutions like\nthe Caravan Club  with their caravan parks etc  can be enlisted. In\nevery area a group comprising a few  councilors,  community members, a civil  engineer, a\nrepresentative of the Caravan Club a representative of the College of Education\nin the area could draw up what infrastructure has to be provided to encourage\ntourism.  Similar details have to be worked out on an area basis. Perhaps\nthe City and Regional Councils  can take on this leadership for this\ntask  of development.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is my experience that tourists cannot find access to  coastal areas of pristine beauty. Many areas\nhave scenic beauty. These have to be identified and necessary facilities\nprovided. Instead of  British tourists\nflocking overseas for holidays, they can easily be accommodated in Britain\nitself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Conclusion<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating entrepreneurs out of the cadres that are being trained\nat Colleges of Education all over the UK, and an attempt to establish Community\ncooperatives out of the trained with community expertise also playing a role,\nenlisting Colleges of Education and even Universities along with County and\nCity Councils to forge ahead on employment creation tasks can  be the nucleus of a long lasting and useful\nprogramme that will give great credence to any personage that establishes it.\n  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an attempt will bring about production, will reduce imports\nand  equip Great Britain to face the problems that it will have to face\nfrom a departure from the EU<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such an attempt at employment creation will also put Great\nBritain on a path to become the manufacturing hub of the world, which it\nactually was in the last century. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is my sincere contention that instead of pleading  and\nbegging from the Garniers and  Merkels, an attempt should be made to\nrevive the British economy and things will then move in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May this Paper be debated and appropriately developed on to\nenable the creation of a sustainable economy. Let me hope that initiatives will\ncommence in a few areas  like Edinburgh, Manchester or London or where\nthere will be interested officers in Colleges of Education,  Universities, in Education Departments,\nRegional and City Councils and interested politicians. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is time for a new initiative \nfor Great Britain to be great again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Garvin Karunaratne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

M.Ed,\nManchester, M.Phil.Edinburgh, Ph.D. Michigan State University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 1 st August 2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Garvin Karunaratne.M.Ed, Manchester, M.Phil.Edinburgh, Ph.D. Michigan State University. Introduction In my own life as an automobile owner \u2013 all my earlier cars were made in Great Britain- a Hillman Minx,  a Humber Hawk, a Vauxhall Cresta, a Morris Oxford. The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka in the Sixties, That Humber Hawk was a dependable, comfortable […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-91887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-by-garvin-karunaratne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91887","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91887"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91887\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}