Baker Dearing CEO Kate Ambrosi has written for Comment Central, arguing that students can be engaged in education and better prepared for employment if learning is placed in the context of careers and industry.

Under the cloud of one million young NEETs and a crisis of absenteeism in schools, Kate makes the case that relating the skills students learn in class to those they will need in industry will help more young people benefit as UTC students do:

• UTCs each year see around 20% of their year 13 leavers progress to apprenticeships, three times the national average.
• Last year, 9% of the apprenticeships taken up by UTC leavers were higher or degree level, versus 2% nationally.
• Just 5% of UTC leavers became NEET in 2025, compared to 10% nationally.

“UTC students are constantly aware that the skills they are developing – whether specific to a job or more broadly useful, such as numeracy – will be valued in the long run,” Kate writes. She uses the example of how Silverstone UTC teaches in the context of motorsport and Leigh UTC Dartford uses its SME partners to indicate the purpose of learning and which skills and aptitudes they value.

This piece comes after Kate and Lord Baker’s appearance before the House of Lords Numeracy for Life Committee. You can read the full piece through the link below. A huge thanks to Comment Central for running it.