Well over half of young people do not go on to university after leaving school, and our education system is letting many of them down. Further education colleges and sixth forms offering technical pathways into work have been grievously underfunded for years. New vocational qualifications, designed as an alternative to more academic GCSEs and A-levels, have been poorly understood and insufficiently valued by employers. The value and importance of apprenticeships is routinely acknowledged in Westminster; but the education select committee last month reported a steep and long-term decline in the number of under-19s actually doing one.
The net result is a shameful waste of the potential of millions of school pupils, with knock-on economic effects in terms of growth and productivity. The challenges represented by the green economy, artificial intelligence and an ageing population mean that Britain can ill afford to neglect the formation and prospects of the majority of its future workforce. But a reset is required to restore status, value and resources to non-university routes to employment.
