Andy Burnham has vowed to reform the education system to give school students more access to technical education, as he attempts to promote alternative options to university.��

The UK’s new prime minister announced a plan to create new education routes for students aged 14 and upwards, allowing them to study “high-quality” technical subjects alongside core academic ones, like English, maths and science.��

Technical courses being discussed by the government include engineering, healthcare and digital technology.��

The government also said it would move away from a “one-size-fits-all” education system “designed in Whitehall”, instead supporting regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers to shape education plans linked to industries and skills needs in their areas.��

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This could include advanced manufacturing, AI, digital and technology, clean energy, life sciences, construction, health and care, or the creative industries, “depending on local strengths and where the jobs of the future are being created”, the government said.��

Downing Street added that funding will be prioritised towards “high-quality technical education and practical routes into work”.��

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It comes as many universities are facing severe financial challenges, with direct government funding through the Strategic Priorities Grant having declined for the past two years.��

“For too long in this country, students have been told that you must take the academic path to do well and to be respected,” said Burnham.��

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

He said he wanted 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 said.��

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The latest plans build on the work of previous prime minister, Keir Starmer, who scrapped Labour’s target of ensuring at least 50 per cent of young people attend university, instead setting a goal of two-thirds of young people going to university or starting an apprenticeship.

In an interview aired by the BBC on 27 July, Burnham also said the country’s education system had been “obsessed on the university route” but “hasn’t done enough for young people who want technical qualifications and, in many ways, has treated them as second-class students”.�� 

Newly appointed education secretary Lucy Powell said the announcement marked “the start of a real shared effort with employers, businesses, mayors and councils to design an education system that connects young people to jobs and careers in their local area”.

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Responding to the news, Vivienne Stern, chief executive of Universities UK, noted that universities deliver “a huge amount of technical and vocational education”.

“But there has been a decline in non-university routes into employment, so we fully support the ambition to create a variety of high-quality routes from education to employment for all.”

Lee Elliot Major, professor of social mobility at the University of Exeter, said the education system “continues to label millions of young people as failures because it prizes one narrow form of academic success above all else”.

“If we’re serious about rewiring opportunity, technical and workplace skills must finally have parity with academic achievement. That requires a revolution in how we recognise talent, not another round of incremental reform.”

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helen.packer@timeshighereducation.com