Secondary school pupils in England will be able to study subjects like manufacturing and AI from age 14 under reforms outlined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham, who said technical education would be “at the heart of our curriculum” for the first time.
The courses, available from Year 10, will be linked to local industries and designed to give children a clearer pathway into work, the government said. Pupils would continue to study core maths, English and science but combine them with technical education, including work experience and connections with local employers.
“Pupils in England from age 14 can study AI and manufacturing under Burnham reforms.”
The announcement comes after 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. Burnham said the policy would eventually drive down welfare spending on young people.
Writing in the Times, 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.”
But shadow work and pensions secretary Helen Whately dismissed the plan. 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.”
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 government expects the new pathways to be up and running in some areas by 2028.
While the Association of School and College Leaders welcomed the ambition of preventing young people falling out of education or work at 16, it warned that schools already face tight budgets and are implementing radical reforms to special education needs, raising capacity concerns. General secretary of the NAHT school leaders union Paul Whiteman also welcomed the announcement but called for “greater clarity” about funding and practical details.
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 he said began under Sir Keir Starmer. The reforms also include changes to how Ofsted measures performance, though details remain scarce.