The distinction is not between vocational and academic, he says.
Business is adapting by blurring the previously sharp distinction between vocational and university training.
De Smidt believes the new Institute for Learning can help close the traditional gap in esteem between vocational and academic teachers in further education.
There are "basic" vocational schools, lyceums aimed at readying their students for university, and two types of institution that sit somewhere in between: "vocational secondary" and "technical" schools.
A "culture of inequality" between vocational and academic education "pervades the system", a House of Lords select committee stated last month.
The organisation is calling for a "business-led, high-quality apprenticeship system that provides a real choice between vocational and academic routes.
In the past two years, there's been a wealth of reports on how the skills system is broken, with the disconnect between vocational training and jobs heavily criticised.
It reflects the contemporary intellectual preference in higher education for integrating the theory and practice of a discipline, and for reducing the divisions between vocational and academic qualifications.
