Following comments from chair of the Young People and Work Report, Alan Milburn, as reported by the Financial Times, Baker Dearing CEO Kate Ambrosi has made the following response.

“Baker Dearing completely agrees with Alan Milburn that the education system is not providing the skilled labour that employers need.

“This disconnect creates barriers for economic growth and also youth employment which, as the Institute For Fiscal Studies reported yesterday, fell over the three months to December 2025 by 4.3 per cent. Almost as much as the falls during the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID pandemic.

“However, we argue that greater technical education opportunities at 16 are not the entire solution. Rather, young people can begin developing the skills and attitudes they need for the workplace at the secondary school level.

“England’s network of 44 University Technical Colleges, which Baker Dearing supports, start delivering a high-quality technical education curriculum – based on the needs of, and with the involvement of local employers – to students aged 14 or younger.

“Starting at 14 means students’ skills will be much more advanced by 16 and they will be able to make informed decisions about, for example, whether to take T Levels, apprenticeships, or continue to sixth form.

“It also means they develop professional links with local employers, who are much more willing to offer apprenticeships and careers to those young people.

“Last year, a fifth of our year 13 leavers progressed to apprenticeships, versus six per cent nationally. Just five per cent of UTC students became NEET upon leaving at 18, versus ten per cent nationally.

“Also, students who have spent more than two years at their UTC achieve better outcomes than those who are there for just two years. In particular, they achieve lower NEET rates and higher apprenticeship starts. This justifies starting students on a technical education curriculum before 16.

“Baker Dearing is calling on the Department for Education to allow more young people to share in the transformative benefits of a UTC education by piloting UTC Sleeves. These ‘mini-UTCs’ deliver a high-quality, employer-led technical pathway within a mainstream school.

“The IFS report makes clear that specific policy initiatives are needed to turn the tide on youth unemployment. UTC Sleeves, which are grounded in almost 20 years’ of evidence from the UTC programme, would meet this exact need.

“We look forward to reading Alan Milburn’s full report and the government’s response.”