Response to new Vocational GCSEs and work experience placements
University should not be the only way to a good, rewarding job, and young people deserve real alternative routes.
With a record number of young people not in education, employment or training, and a jobs market being rapidly reshaped by new technologies, it's good to see the Government set out a long-term plan to open up different routes into the jobs of tomorrow.
We welcome today’s announcement of new Vocational GCSEs and the pledge to provide 200,000 additional work experience placements. We are also pleased to see the commitment to ensuring school performance and accountability measures recognise these new technical and vocational qualifications, something we called for in our recent Report Card. With good design and implementation, these reforms have the potential to set young people and employers up for success.
We're pleased to see there will be an extensive consultation to work through the implementation details. We see five things the Government will need to focus on:
Guard against a two-tier system
We must not end up with a disproportionate number of children from low-income households steered towards vocational routes while their better-off peers stay on the academic path. We're glad the announcement recognises this risk. We hope to see more information about how schools will receive and provide information and guidance about the new GCSEs, and how take-up will be monitored so a two-tier system doesn’t take root.
Keep it simple
Young people and their families already have to navigate GCSEs, V Levels, T Levels, A Levels and apprenticeships. The new qualifications must make that system easier to understand, not add to its complexity.
Don't make 14 a point of no return
We're encouraged that the Government talks about widening opportunity rather than putting young people on fixed tracks. In practice, that means a young person who chooses Vocational GCSEs must still be able to take an academic route, and vice versa, so nobody is trapped by a choice made at a comparatively young age.
Make skills portable
Where vocational education is linked to local economies, the skills and knowledge young people gain must count wherever they go, not just in one area.
Put young people's voices at the centre
We were disappointed that the plans for consultation didn’t mention young people as a key audience. A big part of the MBacc's success, which has helped shape this policy, came from designing it with young people. Their voices in both design and delivery are vital if these reforms are to truly work for them.
We look forward to working with our members, young people and the Government to make sure these reforms deliver for future generations.