ON the face of it Government plans to raise the school leaving age from 16 to 18 may seem like a good idea.

The change, which could be made in 2013, is aimed at tackling youth unemployment, with youngsters being given the opportunity to either stay on at school, go into training or take up workplace training until they are 18.

In recent years there has been a move to let some teenagers leave school before they reached 16 to go on vocational courses such as bricklaying because they are unsuited for a variety of reasons to further studying.

Just a few years ago those pupils, usually boys, could walk into apprenticeships in engineering, manufacturing or the building trade and, after a few years, end up with a skill and a reasonable income, helping them become responsible members of society. But with the collapse of British manufacturing industries the apprenticeships are no longer there.

Giving youngsters the opportunity to train for a particular career will prove advantageous, but for many being forced to stay in education for a further two years will not be of any benefit.

Enforcing the scheme will be difficult, but perhaps we should take a leaf out of Canada's book where under-18s cannot get a driving licence unless they prove they are in full time education or training.