There's been something of an unholy stink since it was leaked to a national newspaper this week that the Education Secretary, Michael Gove, has been planning to ditch GCSEs.

His plan is to scrap them in favour of a system more akin to the former O-level, which in itself is rather ironic given that Mrs T herself did away with the O-level in favour of the GCSE system.

It seems we are going full circle.

And the new system could be up and running as soon as 2015 too, for exams in the core subjects: English, maths and the sciences. So Mr Gove is clearly not messing around and means business here, this is no loosely conceived policy document to show he's been keeping busy.

But despite the ensuing rumpus in some quarters since the news 'leaked', or rather exploded, in to the tabloids, we believe this could be a good thing. We know many businesses have long felt let down by the current GCSE system, which in far too many cases has failed to teach youngsters the most basic of skills in the three 'R's' - that is reading, writing, and arithmetic.

For example, just last year supermarket Morrison's hit the headlines after bosses there were forced to send dozens of young recruits for a new store they were opening back to the classroom. Their new starters demonstrated sub-standard spelling and reading skills, and were lacking even simple arithmetic skills. That's not right.

But while large firms like Morrison's can afford to indulge in such well meaning altruism, the same cannot be said for most small firms, who on the whole, can neither afford the time or the money for such practices.

We also know from our own members experiences that this is not an isolated example, and that school leavers across the country do not always come fully equipped with the basic but necessary skills to perform as a competent employee.

So a new system of examinations concentrating more on the core subjects such as reading and writing and arithmetic sounds like a sensible move on from the much maligned GSCE. Let's be honest, since the mid-90s - barely half a decade after the GCSE's birth - every August come results day we've heard the same story from employers that standards are falling.

But we also hear of new record rates of achievement every year. There are private and grammar schools regularly posting 100% pass rates at grades A and A*, and state schools in the more affluent areas aren't far behind either. These kinds of results are startling for many reasons.

From what little we know about Mr Gove's new scheme, it sounds like the new exam will focus much more on the core subjects and, crucially, fewer peripheral ones. This should mean pupils will leave school with a greater grasp and understanding of the 'three Rs'.

Perhaps the days of Year 11 pupils sitting 13 or 14 exams will be a thing of the past soon enough? Being Jack of all trades but master of none is of little use to either pupil or employer.

Let's be frank, most businesses aren't looking for new starters who have an A* GCSE in 'global citizenship'. They need work ready employees who can write a properly punctuated sentence, free from spelling mistakes, and one who's mentally able to work out a simple maths problem.

However, while we would welcome changes to the GCSE model, the Government must not diminish the importance of vocational courses, which are equally important in the eyes of industry.

At a time when ministers are seeking to rebalance the economy back towards manufacturing it would be madness to simply concentrate more on pure academia as the solution to declining standards in education.

Education is about focusing a person's talents on the areas where they can excel best, so pupils who are gifted with more hands on subjects should be encouraged and nurtured as much as one who is adept at number crunching.

To service British business we need a well rounded workforce with the necessary skills and crafts to help grease the wheels of the economy. Now more than ever with the economic threat from the developing nations we need the best pupils with the best education and the best skills to enter the workplace and hit the ground running.