Following the appointment of Luke Hall MP as Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education, Baker Dearing Educational Trust Director of Education and Innovation Kate Ambrosi commented:
“We welcome Luke Hall’s appointment as skills minister which comes at a critical time for the education sector. Rising costs are piling the pressure on providers, especially those delivering technical education subjects which have additional costs around, for example, equipment and facilities maintenance.
“For over ten years, the University Technical Colleges that we support have each delivered a specialist technical curriculum with key local employers. Eighty-four per cent of UTCs are ‘Good’ or above and UTC students are five times more likely to progress onto apprenticeships than mainstream school and college leavers.
“As an alumni of a city technology college, Luke Hall understands how high-quality technical education gives students the best start to life.
“We want to widen access to high-quality technical education and are working with the Department for Education to fund a pilot of UTC Sleeves, which would replicate the UTC model in existing schools, delivering employer-led technical education without the need for entirely new estates.
“UTC Sleeves, the 44-strong UTC network, and the two new UTCs being developed in Southampton and Doncaster to meet significant local demand, are the best option for reversing the regrettable decline of technical education in pre-18 education.”