Beyond the grades: making post-16 pathways a genuine choice

Four of our members and partners on what needs to change in post-16 destinations for young people from low-income households, and what gives them hope for the year ahead.

Over the coming fortnight, hundreds of thousands of young people will collect their A-level and GCSE results. For too many, what happens next is limited by a lack of resources or local opportunities. Following the government’s recent announcement on new technical and vocational pathways, there is a real opportunity to change that. Results day is treated as a moment of individual achievement, but what happens next depends heavily on what is available nearby, who is on hand to explain it, and whether anyone has helped a young person picture a route from the grades in their hand to a job they want. 

So we asked four of our members and Mayoral Strategic Authorities two questions: what one change would improve post-16 destinations for young people from low-income households, and what gives you hope for the coming academic year? Their answers are below, in their own words. 

Investment has to match the rhetoric

Kevin Latham, Research and Policy Manager at The Sutton Trust, welcomes the government’s renewed attention on technical and vocational pathways, but is clear it will not close gaps on its own. 

“With a new Prime Minister there’s much anticipation, but for the moment, also much to be excited about in relation to post-16 education. Whatever we think of ‘Manchesterism’, it has brought a renewed focus on vocational training and qualifications. This must be welcomed.

The Sutton Trust is strongly committed to improving outcomes for disadvantaged young people in this area and ensuring they have a range of quality options. In addition to our long running Access Apprenticeships programme, in our research and advocacy we have long called for more high quality apprenticeships. Our new research this Autumn will explore what is driving apprenticeship dropout rates and the relationship to disadvantage.

More broadly, however, the government must take seriously further education, which disproportionately supports disadvantaged students. This should start with bringing FE funding levels up to that of schools and extending the pupil premium to those in post-16 study. Tackling disadvantage gaps requires investment to match the rhetoric.”

There is no false choice between academic and vocational

Ayesha Baloch, Head of Youth Employment Policy at Impetus, argues that technical routes should complement a strong academic foundation rather than replace it - and that assuming otherwise narrows opportunity for the young people who already have least of it. 

“We would like to see a move away from the false choice between academic and vocational education for young people from low-income or disadvantaged backgrounds. We shouldn’t assume that students who are struggling academically should simply be diverted into vocational pathways. There is little evidence that doing so improves attendance or engagement, and it risks narrowing opportunities for those who already face disadvantage. Instead, the focus should be on making school a place where young people feel they are progressing towards a meaningful future. Strong employer links, high-quality careers education, and clear technical pathways into good jobs should complement and not replace a strong academic foundation. Qualifications like GCSEs remain important because they keep doors open, giving young people the flexibility to change direction later in life.”

On what gives her hope, Ayesha points to four things: schools’ new Inclusion Strategies and the universal offer within them, which should mean needs are identified and support offered at the earliest opportunity; new DfE guidance on attendance and exclusion, which is “support-first, belonging-led” and recognises the role of trusted relationships; the new and expanded enrichment offer schools are required to deliver, because “young people want more opportunities for success and joy at school”; and the government’s commitment to halving the GCSE attainment gap.

A genuinely joined-up system

Mahfia Watkinson, Senior Delivery Manager for Quality and Policy at the West Midlands Combined Authority, thinks a real range of options is paramount, especially for young people from low-income backgrounds. 

“Focusing on more technical and vocational pathways is absolutely the right direction. Most careers aren’t linear, and in a changing economy young people need the knowledge, skills and confidence to feel they can adjust course and still thrive throughout their lives.

Our Growth Plan shows we need more technical skills for good jobs, and we want local young people to benefit. For those from low-income backgrounds, access to opportunity isn’t always equal or consistent. I’d like to see a genuinely joined-up system where every young person has a meaningful choice as they weigh up the type of career they want, regardless of their background.

It’s a priority for Mayor Richard Parker and sits at the heart of our work on skills, growth and inclusion. We’re doing lots already with partners, including with Bloomberg and the FEA, so I’m optimistic we can make the most of the alignment in ambitions.”

From NEET numbers to supported pathways

Tina Slater, Head of Employment and Careers at the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority, wants to change what the conversation about post-16 destinations is actually about. 

“One change I’d like to see is a shift in how we talk about post-16 destinations for young people, particularly from low-income backgrounds. In South Yorkshire, we’re working to move the conversation away from reducing NEET figures and towards creating supported pathways that help young people understand the opportunities available to them from an early stage in their education. By raising aspirations early and making pathways clearer, young people can make informed choices about the routes that will help them achieve their ambitions.

A key part of this is ensuring all young people have access to high-quality employer encounters and meaningful engagement with the world of work. Through the South Yorkshire Careers Hub, we see the impact that employers can have in inspiring future generations. However, the opportunity goes beyond encounters alone. Bringing employers into curriculum design and pathway planning can help create education and training routes that better reflect future skills needs while supporting young people into sustainable destinations.

What gives me hope for the coming academic year is the growing recognition that there is no single route to success. The increasing focus on the equal value of academic and vocational pathways, alongside the importance of trusted adult relationships, is helping to create a more inclusive and person-centred approach to supporting young people. I am also encouraged by the greater emphasis on involving young people in decision-making and recognising the critical role that place plays in shaping opportunity.

This aligns closely with the work we are delivering through the Fair Education Alliance’s Collaboration Partnerships Programme. Across South Yorkshire, we are bringing together partners from education, business, local government and the voluntary and community sector around a shared ambition to improve hope, opportunity and outcomes for young people. By working across organisational boundaries and adopting a systems-change approach, we are exploring what truly joined-up, wraparound support could look like, ensuring that young people remain at the centre of decision-making and that place-based solutions help unlock their potential.”

What this means for our work

Read together, these four answers describe the same problem from four vantage points: the pathways exist on paper, but too often they are not funded equally, not explained early enough, not connected to employers, and not joined up around the young person. That is what our upcoming Jobs for Tomorrow Collaboration exists to change. Young people from low-income households are twice as likely not to be in education, employment or training as their peers, and the world of work is shifting fast. The collaboration will bring members and aligned partners together to focus on themes such as essential skills for life and work, the opportunities and risks of AI, and stronger links between education, employers, and communities. 

We’re testing what works in place. Two of our three Collaboration Partnerships with mayoral strategic authorities focus on post-16 destinations. The West Midlands partnership is working on joining up support systems around young people to prevent them falling through the cracks. In South Yorkshire, we’re co-designing two neighbourhood-level pilots of intensive support for the young people who need it most. In both regions we are learning what works locally and using it to push for national change - this is what we mean by Neighbourhood to National in practice. 

Finally, good luck to everyone collecting results over the next two weeks. Whatever the grades say, they are one step, and there are many ways forward from here. We want a future where no young person’s pathway is determined by their socioeconomic background - the future we are building together.