Andy Burnham said Schools Week pupils in England from the age of 14 would get a new option in school that keeps core maths, English and science while adding hands-on technical education. He said the route would include work experience and links with local employers.
The plan comes after Keir Starmer told Labour’s annual conference that the 50% university target was wrong and that Labour would replace it with an ambition for two-thirds of children to go either to university or take a gold standard apprenticeship. Burnham’s proposal adds a further route inside school rather than waiting until after pupils leave it.
Keir Starmer and Labour’s annual conference
Starmer said: “So, today I can announce we will scrap that [50%] target and replace it with a new ambition, that two-thirds of our children should go either to university or take a gold standard apprenticeship,”. That pledge set the frame for Burnham’s announcement by putting apprenticeships alongside university as a stated national aim.
Burnham wrote that the old model gave pupils only one route to success. He said: “For too long, we’ve built an education system around the idea that there’s only one route to success: university, a degree, a desk.” He added: “I think that was one of the biggest mistakes this country has made.”
Andy Burnham and age 14
Burnham said: “From the age of 14, we will be giving kids a new option in school: keeping core maths, English and science, but combining them with a real, hands-on technical education.” He said: “This will include gaining work experience and creating connections with local employers.”
He also said: “These new [technical education] routes won’t be designed by Westminster.” Burnham said they would be shaped by “mayors, local leaders, employers and schools,” and that the policy would identify the industries driving growth in local areas and give local children a clear route into them.
That leaves the practical shape of the offer to those local actors. Burnham set the age, the subjects and the work-based element, but he did not name which technical subjects or pathways pupils would study from 14.
Labour and local routes
Burnham tied the policy to a wider case for technical skills. He wrote: “In the age of AI, practical and technical skills haven’t become less valuable — they’ve become more valuable than ever.” He added: “Britain will need brilliant engineers, electricians and cybersecurity experts more than ever before.”
The government news release on the plan ran to almost 4,000 words and carried almost 20 endorsements for the policy. The Conservative party was not backing the plan.
