Andy Burnham unveils technical education from age 14 to cut NEET numbers

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced an education overhaul that would see schools in England offer technical education to pupils from the age of 14. Under the plan, schools will be told to combine academic subjects with technical education when pupils reach 14. The technical route will be linked to jobs available in the local area. Burnham said the current emphasis on academic subjects at the expense of vocational skills was writing off some pupils and contributing to high numbers of young people not in education, employment or training. He committed to getting NEET numbers down and said the first task was to stop the current rise.

The announcement came one week into his new job and followed the Milburn report, which was described as throwing a stark spotlight on an acute crisis of young people not in education, work or training. The coverage noted that the UK now has the highest youth unemployment rate in Europe apart from Romania. Burnham made the announcement after meeting apprentices in the East Midlands and promoted it on social media, presenting himself as a prime minister on a mission. The plan does not yet have funding details.

The government also announced free training for apprentices under 25. It said it would pay 4,500 pounds to families on benefits if one of their children goes on to an apprenticeship, because they would have lost benefits in the past. Schools Minister Georgia Gould said the policy was one part of a wider strategy, including incentives for businesses and partnerships with mayors' strategic authorities to link schools, employers and local industrial strategies. She rejected the suggestion that the plan lacked a benefit stick and said many young people were trying hard but lacked support. The Milburn Review will examine a wider range of issues.

Conservative critics said the real problem was a benefit system that pays more to be on welfare than in work. Teachers' groups warned that technical pathways could narrow opportunities, especially for disadvantaged pupils, because children at elite private schools and top state schools are unlikely to be placed on them. In pressured school environments, league tables and enrolment numbers could lead to pupils being steered onto technical qualifications. Others questioned whether the plan would differ from previous schemes. An interviewer noted that there have been nine similar initiatives since 1985 to get young people off benefits and into work or apprenticeships.

In Manchester, young people and a local employer described barriers to finding meaningful work. Two young people receiving career support from a charity said more technical routes at school could have helped and that many young people felt pressured into academic paths. A pizza shop owner who created an online platform to encourage businesses to offer jobs to young people, after one advert received 2,000 applications, called for incentives such as a discount or rebate on council tax or VAT. The plan's success will depend on whether employers hire the pupils and whether funding follows the announcement.