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UK pushes technical and vocational training, expanding apprenticeships
The government plans technical and vocational learning from age 14 in England and is pairing it with a new bursary to protect family finances if teens start apprenticeships.
The UK is stepping up its focus on technical and vocational training as the youth employment market remains under pressure, with government support aimed at easing entry into work through apprenticeships. According to the Guardian Economics, ministers want technical and vocational learning in England to begin at age 14 and also aim to create thousands more apprenticeships. Work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden announced a new bursary intended to ensure families will not be financially worse off if their teenager starts an apprenticeship. The coverage also points to barriers in apprenticeship completion, citing research from the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) that found black and mixed-ethnicity learners from poorer backgrounds, as well as those for whom English is an additional language, are less likely to complete apprenticeships. The article describes the experience of an apprentice engineer, Ellen, who chose an apprenticeship over university after it was not presented as an option at school and faced multiple rejections before securing a three year apprenticeship at a medium sized MEP (mechanical, electrical and plumbing) consultancy. It notes the structure of her training, including four days a week at work and a day at college for higher national certificate studies, and that the apprenticeship required submitting evidence that added an extra year.