Dame Sharon White, the boss of John Lewis has told the Times Education Commission she has to give her new young staff basic literacy and numeracy classes because they have been ‘completely failed’ by the education system.

In a brutal criticism of the UK's education set-up, Dame Sharon White said some of the 16-year-olds it hired did not have 'functional literacy and numeracy' skills. Some lacked skills beyond the level of a 10-year-old, Dame Sharon said. She also warned that children who are less academically inclined are not always able to reach their full potential.

Dame Sharon said: 'To have done ten years, 11, 12 years of education, and not having, in many cases, functional literacy, certainly, pretty typically not having functional numeracy beyond the age of, I'd say, ten, 11, means that they may then have fabulous people skills and fabulous skills in terms of operating in a team but that's almost outwith the education system.'

The comments were made by Dame Sharon while speaking to the Times Education Commission. A former Ofcom chief, the government body monitoring the communications industry. she has been the chair of the John Lewis Partnership which also owns Waitrose since July 2019. 

 The Times Education Commission is currently examining the future of education in light of the Covid-19 crisis. Called The Future of Assessment it is examining what format qualifications between the ages of 16 and 18 might take in the future, and how effective the system is at supporting young people. It will also look at the decline in social mobility, as well as how technology can help improve education for children in the UK.

Former Labour prime Minister, Tony Blair, as well as children's laureate, Cressida Cowell, and director of the National Theatre, Rufus Norris, are among those giving evidence to the committee. Exam board, Pearson, is currently running a consultation on the exam system.

Recent research from the consultation found four out of five employers in the UK said qualifications did 'not give young people the skills they need for work'.

Rod Bristow, president of Pearson UK, called for employers to be more involved in education policy. Speaking to the Times, he said: 'It's not necessarily about designing another exam to test whether they have these skills, but it is important we know they had the experiences where learning can happen.'

The year-long commission is set to produce a final report in June 2022.

The pandemic has focused attention on education, after students missed out on many weeks of schooling. The government has pledged to support a catch-up programme.

But there has been renewed debate over whether the UK education system, which is centred around academic qualifications, including GCSEs and A Levels, adequately prepares young people for work.