I have to disagree. I don't know about the UK, but there are plenty of people here who are qualified, and they get laid off so the company can pay someone on the other side of the globe a fraction of what they pay a US worker. I also know people who have to work with some of the employees in these other countries. Besides the 6 and 7am phone calls, these cut rate employees are not all all that in terms of ability. Some of them are far behind where they should be, and that becomes my friends' problem, not the companies. they have to do the extra work to make sure it's up to snuff because the Indian office isn’t capable and there is no mechanism for enforcing quality control.
Anyway...
Not to stray too far off topic. I don't think employees are made in grade school and high school in terms of specific job skills. That's more college and grad school. I think before college, a good liberal arts education is what is best. Kids need to be exposed to the classics (yes, the classics that served as the cultural foundation on which this country was built). This teaches people how think, how to communicate, and how to learn - and it can fire their interests. Of course, computers and what not need to be touched on, but I think a serious liberal arts education best prepares kids for further education.
I'm done. :OT :D
Jordan