I think it's bad because these children are just entering the education system, and I think that framing education from the outset as "the purpose of this is to get a job / help the economy" is wrong. I'd like for children to have some time that is focused on education for its own sake. I think getting exposure to different jobs is fine, just that 4 years old is too early.

This is in the context of a report which the UK government asked Milburn to carry out, looking at how to increase employment among young people (18-25 year olds). So the framing is "how can we use the education system to get more people into a job", which I think turns schools even more into an employee factory.