New technical education routes have been launched as part of a significant curriculum shift by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The new education system will provide 14-year-olds (Year 10 pupils) with early access to technical skills, work experience and connections with local employers. 

Mr Burnham said he wants to put technical education on an equal footing with the traditional academic path as part of a broader ambition to tackle rising youth unemployment.  

Regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers will work together to shape the new technical education pathways, which can be tailored around local industries and growth sectors. 

Dominic Swift, Partner in the education team specialising in devolution and regeneration at UK and Ireland law firm Browne Jacobson, said: “These reforms indicate Andy Burnham’s belief that the youth unemployment crisis requires a structural rethink of our secondary education system, including the pathways we’re creating into further and higher education, and appear to mirror the Great Manchester Baccalaureate launched in 2023 when he was Mayor of Greater Manchester.

“Reflecting Andy Burnham’s broader political philosophy, there’s a clear devolution flavour to this announcement as he rolls out nationally an idea born in Manchester. The MBacc provided local schools with a framework to align GCSE choices with growing sectors in the region, such as green energy and digital. 

“Like with other aspects of ‘Manchesterism’, there will be an emphasis on collaboration between the public and private sectors. Schools are encouraged to form partnerships with businesses and other organisations in their communities – with mayors also heavily involved as they can provide the regional economic picture more broadly – to ensure their pupils learn skills that are relevant to both them and their future employers.

“This is a meaningful delegation of curriculum influence to regional and local areas, but raises important questions about consistency of entitlement. Government will have to ensure pupils in areas with weaker industrial bases, or with fewer engaged employers, receive an equally compelling offer. 

“The legal framework underpinning how mayors and councils exercise this curriculum influence, and how it interacts with national accountability measures and Ofsted, will therefore need to be carefully drafted to avoid creating a two-tier system.

“The timing of this announcement is significant for the higher education as it navigates acute structural pressures. Combined with the V-level qualification already announced for post-16 from 2027, there is now a coherent policy direction that could materially reduce the pipeline of traditional undergraduate applicants over the medium term. For universities – many of which are already managing significant financial uncertainty – this compounds the pressure on student recruitment.

“Some universities will feel they should remain focused on delivering more academic qualifications but there is, however, a real opportunity here for universities that move quickly to forge partnership arrangements with schools, employers and combined authorities. 

“By positioning themselves as co-designers of these new technical pathways, rather than competitors to them, they will be better aligned to take advantage of the opportunities emerging from a system that is visibly reordering its priorities around work-readiness and local economic need.”