Vocational education would be a priority with new “Technical Degrees”, says Miliband

Labour will make the introduction of Technical Degrees their priority for expanding university places, Ed Miliband will announce today. In a speech to a vocational education summit, Miliband will say that higher education should no longer be solely for young people who have chosen the conventional academic route.

A Labour Government would work with universities and businesses to create the new qualifications, which would equip future generations with the skills they need for a high wage, high quality economy. By working in partnership with employers, the courses will provide the education businesses need, while in return employers will sponsor young people who have excelled in their apprenticeships – ensuring that people can earn wages while they learn.

The Labour leader will also say that all young people will be required to study English and Maths until they are 18, that lecturers at Further Education colleges will need teaching qualifications, and that apprenticeships will become Level 3 qualifications.

Miliband will say:

“For too long governments have believed there is only one way to success through education which is to follow the conventional academic route: to do GCSEs, A-levels, a traditional academic subject at university and then on to career.

“It has worked for many. And the last Labour government made sure that it worked for more than ever before with improved quality at school and with a crucial expansion of those going to university. And I am proud of our record of expanding high education and creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds to go to university. 

“But that kind of aspiration cannot be limited only to those young people who choose a conventional academic route. We must be One Nation, not two, because we know that route doesn’t work for everyone and we know as well there have not been clear enough alternatives.”

He will claim inspiration from other European countries, as well as revive “The Promise of Britain”:

“We know other countries get this right. In Germany, there are proper, joined-up qualifications at every level – pathways on to apprenticeships and careers. Where other countries have succeeded, we have failed our young people.

 “For the first time in a century there is the real danger of our children doing worse than their parents, of the Promise of Britain being broken, and our country going into decline. We cannot afford to allow people’s talents to go undeveloped and their hopes unfulfilled.

“A Labour government, working with business and universities, will revolutionise learning and training to underpin the high wage, high skill, high quality economy we will build together for the future.