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.

Writing in the Times, external, Burnham said: “In the age of AI, practical and technical skills haven’t become less valuable – they’ve become more valuable than ever. Britain will need brilliant engineers, electricians and cybersecurity experts more than ever before.

“For the first time, technical education will be at the heart of our curriculum, not bolted onto the sides.”

However, shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately said although there is a “broad consensus” on improving vocational education, this is “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.”

Under the proposals pupils would continue to study core maths, English and science but would also have the option of combining the subjects with technical education.

It will include the chance to gain work experience and create connections with local employers, Burnham said, with the government saying the policy will eventually drive down the amount spent on welfare for young people.

Burnham said that “for too long” students had been told to take academic subjects and that a technical education should be valued as much as a university degree, a shift which began under Sir Keir Starmer.

But while the Association of School and College Leaders said they welcomed the ambition of preventing young people falling out of education or work at 16, it warned that with schools already facing tight budgets and implementing radical reforms to special education needs, there could be an issue with capacity.

General secretary of the NAHT school leaders union Paul Whiteman also welcomed the announcement but called for “greater clarity” about funding and practical details.

Along with the changes to learning, Ofsted will change the way it measures performance and will inspect for technical education, but it is not clear how this will fit alongside national measures designed to hold schools to account.

This announcement is the latest in a series of policies in recent years designed to offer a vocational route in education as a counter-balance to high numbers of young people going to university.

In 2020, T-levels were introduced as a technical education alternative to A-Levels in England, with courses including construction, agriculture and health.

Former prime minister Sir Keir announced earlier this year that V-levels would be an additional vocational option for students post-16 from 2027.

Where T-levels are a set course broadly equivalent to three A-levels, V-levels would be equivalent to one A-level, allowing students to mix and match academic and vocational subjects.