Baker Dearing on Burnham becoming PM and Powell becoming Education Secretary

Following Andy Burnham MP becoming PM and appointing Lucy Powell MP the Education Secretary, the Baker Dearing Educational Trust issued the following comments from Chief Executive Kate Ambrosi.

Andy Burnham appointed Prime Minister

“We welcome Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister and wish him the best of luck.

“As mayor, he was a strong supporter of technical education opportunities, including through the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate. We hope he brings this enthusiasm to Whitehall.

“Andy Burnham has spoken about helping more young people into work after, on Friday, calling for parity of esteem between academic and technical education routes, something he strived for through the Baccalaureate. The government needs to focus much more heavily on technical education. Not just to rebalance the scales between routes, but so there are greater technical opportunities than academic.

“Young people need more direct pathways into employment: more apprenticeships, more technical university places, more scholarships and bursaries for shortage occupations.

“They also need to be prepared at school for employment. Too many young people are reaching age 18 without knowing what pathways are open to them and without the technical skills and workplace attitudes to follow them.

“Andy Burnham has been a strong supporter of the University Technical College secondary school network that we support, and which sends around a fifth of leavers into apprenticeships each year – with just five per cent of leavers becoming NEET. He has also supported the UTC Sleeve initiative which we created. UTC Sleeves involve developing a high-quality, employer-led technical education pathway within a mainstream school.

“The new Prime Minister supported developing UTC Sleeves in Greater Manchester and we will be pushing for his support for a nationwide rollout of this initiative, to tackle the country’s youth unemployment crisis.”

Lucy Powell appointed Education Secretary

“Congratulations to Lucy Powell MP on being appointed the new Education Secretary. We also welcome back Pat McFadden MP as Work and Pensions Secretary.

“Their departments will be absolutely pivotal for delivering on the priorities of the Burnham government. Not just getting more young people into work and improving their mental health, but ending rough sleeping and building a new generation of council homes.

“All of these priorities will require a skilled workforce so we need more and better technical education in school to prepare young people for work so they can thrive in life.

“Too many young people are reaching age 18 without knowing what pathways are open to them and without the technical skills and workplace attitudes to follow them. This prevents them from progressing onto apprenticeships and technical university places. We also need more of those so young people can gain the advanced knowledge and skills for which industries such as manufacturing are crying out.

“Andy Burnham has been a strong supporter of the University Technical College secondary schools that we support, and which send around a fifth of leavers into apprenticeships each year – with just five per cent of leavers becoming NEET. He has also worked with us on developing an award for his Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) and supported opening UTC Sleeves in Greater Manchester. UTC Sleeves, created by Baker Dearing, involve developing a high-quality, employer-led technical education pathway within a mainstream school. Both the UTC Sleeve and MBacc Award are aimed at creating for young people a clear and consistent line of sight from classroom to career.

“We will be pushing Lucy Powell and Pat McFadden to continue in Whitehall the support Andy Burnham showed as mayor for the UTC programme and technical education opportunities.”

Baker Dearing on Burnham becoming PM and Powell becoming Education Secretary

Following Andy Burnham MP becoming PM and appointing Lucy Powell MP the Education Secretary, the Baker Dearing Educational Trust issued the following comments from Chief Executive Kate Ambrosi.

Andy Burnham appointed Prime Minister

“We welcome Andy Burnham becoming Prime Minister and wish him the best of luck.

“As mayor, he was a strong supporter of technical education opportunities, including through the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate. We hope he brings this enthusiasm to Whitehall.

“Andy Burnham has spoken about helping more young people into work after, on Friday, calling for parity of esteem between academic and technical education routes, something he strived for through the Baccalaureate. The government needs to focus much more heavily on technical education. Not just to rebalance the scales between routes, but so there are greater technical opportunities than academic.

“Young people need more direct pathways into employment: more apprenticeships, more technical university places, more scholarships and bursaries for shortage occupations.

“They also need to be prepared at school for employment. Too many young people are reaching age 18 without knowing what pathways are open to them and without the technical skills and workplace attitudes to follow them.

“Andy Burnham has been a strong supporter of the University Technical College secondary school network that we support, and which sends around a fifth of leavers into apprenticeships each year – with just five per cent of leavers becoming NEET. He has also supported the UTC Sleeve initiative which we created. UTC Sleeves involve developing a high-quality, employer-led technical education pathway within a mainstream school.

“The new Prime Minister supported developing UTC Sleeves in Greater Manchester and we will be pushing for his support for a nationwide rollout of this initiative, to tackle the country’s youth unemployment crisis.”

Lucy Powell appointed Education Secretary

“Congratulations to Lucy Powell MP on being appointed the new Education Secretary. We also welcome back Pat McFadden MP as Work and Pensions Secretary.

“Their departments will be absolutely pivotal for delivering on the priorities of the Burnham government. Not just getting more young people into work and improving their mental health, but ending rough sleeping and building a new generation of council homes.

“All of these priorities will require a skilled workforce so we need more and better technical education in school to prepare young people for work so they can thrive in life.

“Too many young people are reaching age 18 without knowing what pathways are open to them and without the technical skills and workplace attitudes to follow them. This prevents them from progressing onto apprenticeships and technical university places. We also need more of those so young people can gain the advanced knowledge and skills for which industries such as manufacturing are crying out.

“Andy Burnham has been a strong supporter of the University Technical College secondary schools that we support, and which send around a fifth of leavers into apprenticeships each year – with just five per cent of leavers becoming NEET. He has also worked with us on developing an award for his Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) and supported opening UTC Sleeves in Greater Manchester. UTC Sleeves, created by Baker Dearing, involve developing a high-quality, employer-led technical education pathway within a mainstream school. Both the UTC Sleeve and MBacc Award are aimed at creating for young people a clear and consistent line of sight from classroom to career.

“We will be pushing Lucy Powell and Pat McFadden to continue in Whitehall the support Andy Burnham showed as mayor for the UTC programme and technical education opportunities.”

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