Post-16 technical education simplified

Thousands of courses will be replaced with 15 straightforward routes into skilled employment following independent report.

Currently young people considering a technical education must choose between more than 20,000 courses provided by 160 different organisations with no clear indicator of which course will give them the best chance of landing a job.

A report into technical education by an independent panel, chaired by Lord Sainsbury, has recommended simplifying the current system so technical education is provided through 15 high-quality routes, with standards being set by employers.

In response, Skills Minister Nick Boles has published a ‘Post-16 skills plan’, accepting every one of Lord Sainsbury’s recommendations, while setting out the government’s innovative vision for the future of technical education.

The skills plan sets out to create a highly skilled nation where no child, regardless of their background or circumstances, will be let down by the education or training they receive.

Following its inquiry, Lord Sainsbury’s panel found the current technical education system to be confusing and unclear, leaving students with a dizzying choice of qualifications. For example a budding engineer must choose from a possible 501 courses.

The skills plan proposes a new system where students who have finished their GCSEs will be able to choose from up to 15 routes providing a clear path to skilled employment. Crucially the content for those routes and the accompanying standards will be set by an employer-led body.

Each route, such as health and science, construction, social care or engineering and manufacturing, will take place either at a college and include a work placement or through apprenticeships. The first routes will be made available from 2019.