Andy Burnham To Unveil Biggest Schools Reform For 15 Years With Move Away From University Route

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/feeds/news/andy-burnham" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Andy Burnham is set to unveil the largest overhaul in UK education in 15 years by promising to stop prioritising the university route.

The prime minister intends to value “the hard hat as much as the graduation cap” and ensure there are “no dead ends” for young people coming out of the education system with his reforms.

Burnham will tell students today: “Whether you choose construction, coding or classics, you’ll get the skills you need and be given the respect you deserve.”

New technical routes will give 14-year-olds early access to technical skills, work experience and links to local employers.

Pupils in Year 10 will be able to combine core academic subjects with technical education linked to jobs in their area. 

Regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers will then work together to shape the technical education pathways.

Burnham says the plan will be funded by an existing £570 million put aside to create extra college places across the UK.

He also pointed to the Department for Education settlement agreed at the 2025 Spending Review, where funding for schools increased by £4.7 billion by 2028-29.

It’s part of the prime minister’s wider plan to help a “lost generation”, as more than a million young people are currently unemployed or outside of education.

The reform comes after former Labour cabinet minister Alan Milburn’s interim report from May which warned more than a million 16-to-24 years olds in the UK were not in education, employment or training (NEETs).

Many graduates have also been struggling with long-lasting debt from attending university while simultaneously failing to find a job.

The reforms suggest Burnham, who was a minister under both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, is shifting away from New Labour’s reputation for pushing 50% of school leavers into university.

It also builds on the initiatives he championed as mayor of Greater Manchester, such as the MBacc (Greater Manchester Baccalaureate).

Ahead of his announcement, the prime minister said: “For too long in this country, students have been told that you must take the academic path to do well and to be respected.

The whole school system has been built around it and that has let down young people seeking technical qualifications.

“I want an education system based on parity between academic and technical which gives all young people a clear path in life.

From today, Britain will value the hard hat every bit as much as the graduation cap.”

Burnham also told the BBC on Sunday that he wants to bring down the welfare bill by making benefits conditional on people finding work.

Milburn said Burnham’s plan is a “big step in the right direction” but warned a “whole system reset is needed across health, welfare and labour market policy” too.

Meanwhile, TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “Putting technical education on an equal footing with academia brings us closer to the international standard for skills.”

Michelle Ovens, chief executive of Small Business Britain, said: “This is a great step towards preparing young people for the future, which needs to include business skills and entrepreneurship as core to the changing world of work.”

But Tory shadow education secretary Laura Trott slammed the announcement, saying: “The announcements today don’t come anywhere close to undoing the damage Labour has already done to the job market.

“Labour’s policies are driving youth unemployment to record highs.

They are making it too expensive to hire young people, and destroying jobs with their Jobs Tax and employer red tape.

When it’s easier for young people to claim benefits than get a job, it’s no wonder youth unemployment is rocketing.”

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