With a million young people not in education, employment or training, one of the greatest risks facing the country is “allowing young people to become disconnected from learning or working”.
That’s according to Suella Braverman MP, Reform UK’s Spokesperson for Education, Skills and Equality, who said policymakers have “paid lip service to achieving parity of esteem” between academic, vocational and technical education.
However, local authorities are “uniquely placed” to bring together schools, colleges, employers, universities and community organisations to address these issues, she told the LGA’s annual conference in Bournemouth.
“Increasingly, successful places are those where partnerships are strong, where employers help to shape training, where colleges respond quickly to changing labour market needs, where career education reflects genuine local opportunities, and where young people can see pathways between education and employment,” she said.
“That’s why a Reform UK government will unleash a skills revolution with education pathways and regional dedicated qualifications at their hearts.”
Ms Braverman cited the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, as an example of how the Labour-led combined authority, councils, employers, training providers and colleges, working in partnership, had crafted a “regionalised qualification”, tailored to the area’s specific industries.
Young people were being trained by local employers in the specific skills needed for jobs in their home towns, rather than finding themselves ill-equipped for the local economy, she added.