Schools to offer technical subjects to pupils from age 14, Burnham says
Secondary school pupils in England will be able to study subjects like manufacturing and AI in addition to core academic learning under reforms outlined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
The government said the courses, which would be available from Year 10, would be linked to local industries and designed to give children a clearer pathway into work.
Data published this year showed more than one million young people across the UK were not in education, employment or training, the highest level in more than 12 years.
Few details have been published about how the new vocational courses would work in practice and it is not clear how they would operate in areas with low industrial activity.
The BBC understands that the government expects the new pathways into work to be up and running in some areas by 2028.
Speaking at a train manufacturing site in Derby, Burnham said: “We’ve had a system built for too long around the university route and it sends a message to some young people that they’re some kind of second-class citizens, and it’s just not right.
“They need an education system that works for them as well, that offers a path to all young people, that’s balanced between academic and technical.”
The prime minister said he was “on a mission” to reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training – known as “Neet” – but declined to put a target date on his ambition.
“The trend is rising at the moment, so the first thing I’ve got to do is to stop that rise,” he said.
“It’s hard to put a firm date on the moment when you can say there are fewer than now.”
However, shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said while there was a “broad consensus” on improving vocational education, it was “not a big bold announcement”.
She told BBC Breakfast: “What’s going on there is a drastic shortage of jobs because Labour’s policies over the last couple of years have killed job opportunities for young people. This announcement will not solve that.”
