A degree with no debt that could lead to a £60,000-a-year job. What's not to like? That's Andy Burnham's pitch to the thousands of young people in Greater Manchester who don't want to go to university.
Almost two-thirds of teenagers in the city-region leave school without GCSEs in English, maths, science, humanities and a language.
But rather than pushing them to study the subjects that make up the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and pursue the path to university, the mayor wants to create an alternative.
