Andy Burnham in Derbyshire on an education visit (Image: Getty)
Education Secretary Lucy Powell has defended the Government’s education reforms by insisting they are not about “having less aspiration for kids to go to university”.
Secondary school pupils in England will be able to study subjects such as manufacturing and AI in addition to core academic subjects.
The Government said the courses, which would be available from year 10, would be linked to local industries and designed to give children a clearer pathway into work.
“We don’t want fewer people going to university,” Ms Powell told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“Having that offer of the same quality, the same esteem, you know, pathways straight into employment or into further education, into technical and vocational education, will suit some students better and will actually equip all students with the skills they need for the modern economy.
“So, this is about having that focus as well, alongside the academic. But this is not about dumbing down in any way or having less aspiration for kids to go to university.”
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.
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 into work to be up and running in some areas by 2028.
Speaking at a train manufacturing site in Derby on Tuesday, Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “We’ve had a system built for too long around the university route, and it sends a message to some young people that they’re some kind of second-class citizens, and it’s just not right.
“They need an education system that works for them as well, that offers a path to all young people, that’s balanced between academic and technical.”
It comes as universal credit households are set to have access to more money to help teenagers take on an apprenticeship.
Ministers believe that by rolling out a new bursary, fewer young people will be discouraged from applying for apprenticeships, for fear their family might lose out on benefits.
The bursary will be worth up to £4,500 a year per household, according to the Government.
The Social Security Advisory Committee has previously warned of an “apprenticeship cliff-edge”, because the benefits system “unintentionally penalises families when their children pursue apprenticeships”.
It found that in one scenario, a single parent with a disabled child could have lost up to £339.92 a week in benefits if their teenager started an apprenticeship.
If the apprentice was paid £258 per week, the household would have made a net loss of around £80.
Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden said the welfare system “should be a springboard to opportunity, not a barrier to it”.