Andy Burnham’s plans for technical education build on coalition’s UTC roots
Andy Burnham's plans to put technical and vocational education on an equal footing with academic routes in England have won unlikely praise from Kenneth Baker, the 91-year-old former Conservative education secretary who introduced university technical colleges (UTCs) in 2010. The prime minister's proposal would see schools develop technical and vocational courses for pupils aged 14 and above, tailored to local job markets, at a time when around a million 16- to 24-year-olds are not in education, employment or training. Baker sees Burnham's plan as building directly on his own UTC model and says he will lobby the Conservative party to back it.
Burnham's approach, dubbed the MBacc, grew out of the Greater Manchester baccalaureate he launched as regional mayor in 2023, but draws heavily on Baker's UTC vision, which delivers specialist technical education alongside core subjects from age 14 in partnership with employers and universities. Baker says the 44 UTCs overseen by his Baker Dearing Educational Trust have youth unemployment below 5%, compared with 16.4% in ordinary state secondaries, though the schools have also faced recruitment struggles, closures and mixed Ofsted results. Walney School in Barrow-in-Furness will pilot a UTC "sleeve" from September, but scaling the model nationally would require costly conversion of classrooms into workshops, and school leaders and unions have voiced concern over the lack of detail in Burnham's plans.
In short
- Burnham's technical education plan echoes Kenneth Baker's UTC model
- UTCs report under 5% youth unemployment versus 16.4% nationally
- Unions worry Burnham's proposals lack detail and clear funding
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Advocates argue that decades of prioritising academic, university-focused pathways have left technical and vocational routes chronically under-resourced and stigmatised, despite the economy's evident need for skilled engineers, technicians and tradespeople. They see Burnham's plan, echoing Kenneth Baker's original UTC vision, as a genuine attempt to give young people who thrive with hands-on, applied learning a route that carries equal prestige and funding, rather than being treated as a fallback for those who "failed" academically. Properly resourced technical education, they contend, could ease skills shortages, boost social mobility for students from non-academic backgrounds, and strengthen regional economies.
The case against
Sceptics, while often sympathetic to the underlying goal, caution that University Technical Colleges have a genuinely mixed track record, with several closing due to low recruitment, financial strain or disappointing outcomes, and warn that reviving the model without addressing those structural flaws risks repeating past mistakes. They worry that formally splitting pupils into academic and technical tracks, especially at a relatively young age, could entrench inequalities if technical routes end up under-funded in practice or used to channel disadvantaged pupils away from academic options rather than genuinely broadening opportunity. For these critics, true parity of esteem requires sustained investment and careful safeguards, not just political enthusiasm, and they question whether government will deliver either.
Explained simply
Andy Burnham, England's prime minister, is proposing to improve technical and vocational education by making it a respected alternative to traditional academic routes. Around a million young people aged 16 to 24 are currently not in education, employment or training, which is partly why the government is focusing on practical skills alongside classroom learning.
The plans build on university technical colleges (UTCs), a model introduced in 2010 by Kenneth Baker, a former Conservative education secretary. UTCs teach specialist technical subjects alongside traditional subjects from age 14, working with employers and universities to prepare students for real jobs. Baker says UTCs have achieved youth unemployment below 5 per cent, compared with 16.4 per cent in ordinary secondary schools, though they have also faced some recruitment and closure challenges.
Burnham's approach, called the MBacc, developed from work he did as mayor of Greater Manchester and would see schools across England develop technical courses tailored to their local job markets. Implementing the plan nationwide would require significant investment in converting school classrooms into workshops, and school leaders and unions have raised concerns about the lack of detail in how it would actually work.
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