ABSTRACT
Successive governments from the 1970s have initiated policies designed to improve the performance of Britain as a world competitor. One tangible outcome in the field of education and training was the establishment of Training and Enterprise Councils (TECs) in 1988. The TECs in England and Wales and the Local Enterprise Councils (LECs) in Scotland, were established along similar lines to the Private Industry Councils (PICs) in the USA. The establishment of TECs was followed in April 1990 by plans to establish Education Business Partnerships (EBPs) across the country supported and co-ordinated by TECs. TECs and EBPs are now well established in England and Wales. Leicestershire, with a population of 870,000, is predominantly rural in character with one large city and six towns. The Institute of Manpower Studies has begun to evaluate the national EBP initiative. Preliminary findings indicate that EBPs have led to a marked increase of partnership activity.
