Pat Glass
Every spring we see newspaper articles about the annual rush of young people to get into university.
Later in the summer there is another spate of articles about graduation days with pictures and stories rightly celebrating the success of students as they get their degrees.
But for thousands of British young people who choose a technical education over an academic there is no national celebration.
We hear little about the 50% of young people who do not go to university. It is a telling silence.
And it can be little wonder many of our young people do not choose to go into apprenticeships when they barely hear about apprenticeships.
They don’t know how to find the places, they can’t see the successes and few of their friends and families can help them.
We have to raise the status of technical education to make the equal of academic education. It is a task Andy Burnham has recognised as vital for our country.
And it is why I am delighted he has asked me to lead an expert panel to look at how we can make parity between academic and technical education a reality.
The panel will be made up of educationalists and some of best and most successful employers.
This task will be vital because lack of focus on technical education is one of our greatest public policy failures of the last 50 years.
A bright young person who wants to get an apprenticeship should have the same ambition, excitement and sense of purpose as their counterparts who want to go to university.
Just like university students they should have an easy way to learn about the opportunities across the UK and be able to apply for them in the same way.
And, as Andy has said, we should be able to make a simple promise to all our young people.
If you work hard at school and get the good grades you will know you will be able to get a high-quality apprenticeship or place at university.
It is at the heart of what a Labour Party led by Andy Burnham will be all about. Making sure everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from, can get on in life.
Every spring we see newspaper articles about the annual rush of young people to get into university.
Later in the summer there is another spate of articles about graduation days with pictures and stories rightly celebrating the success of students as they get their degrees.
But for thousands of British young people who choose a technical education over an academic there is no national celebration.
We hear little about the 50% of young people who do not go to university. It is a telling silence.
And it can be little wonder many of our young people do not choose to go into apprenticeships when they barely hear about apprenticeships.
They don’t know how to find the places, they can’t see the successes and few of their friends and families can help them.
We have to raise the status of technical education to make the equal of academic education. It is a task Andy Burnham has recognised as vital for our country.
And it is why I am delighted he has asked me to lead an expert panel to look at how we can make parity between academic and technical education a reality.
The panel will be made up of educationalists and some of best and most successful employers.
This task will be vital because lack of focus on technical education is one of our greatest public policy failures of the last 50 years.
A bright young person who wants to get an apprenticeship should have the same ambition, excitement and sense of purpose as their counterparts who want to go to university.
Just like university students they should have an easy way to learn about the opportunities across the UK and be able to apply for them in the same way.
And, as Andy has said, we should be able to make a simple promise to all our young people.
If you work hard at school and get the good grades you will know you will be able to get a high-quality apprenticeship or place at university.
It is at the heart of what a Labour Party led by Andy Burnham will be all about. Making sure everyone, no matter who they are or where they are from, can get on in life.
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