More than a million young people across the UK are not in education, employment or training – the highest level in over a decade. Now the government is betting on a radical overhaul of technical education to reverse that trend, announcing plans that would allow pupils in England to study subjects like artificial intelligence and manufacturing from the age of 14.
The courses, available from Year 10, would be linked to local jobs and industries, the government said. Students would combine core academic subjects such as English and maths with skills training, work experience and connections with employers.
“Pupils from age 14 can study AI and manufacturing under new government plans to tackle youth unemployment.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said “for too long” students had been told to take academic subjects to “do well and be respected”. “My message to young people is this – whether you choose construction, coding or classics, or maths, manufacturing or mechanics, you’ll get the skills you need and be given the respect you deserve,” he said.
School leaders’ unions welcomed the ambition but called for greater clarity on how and when the changes would be implemented, and how they would be paid for.
The government expects the new pathways to be up and running in some areas by 2028, the BBC understands. The plans build on the MBacc, or Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, launched in 2024 by Burnham when he was the city’s mayor.
The announcement comes after an interim report by former minister Alan Milburn warned young people risked becoming part of a “lost generation”. Figures from the Office for National Statistics showed 13.5% of all UK 16- to 24-year-olds were NEET at the start of this year.
The education shake-up is the latest in a flurry of early promises from Burnham, including a VAT cut on electricity bills, capped bus fares, and a pledge to end rough sleeping. Whether the technical education overhaul can reverse the youth unemployment crisis will depend on implementation details that unions say remain unclear.
