"Unfortunately, for too long, we’ve had too many of our young people leaving school without the necessary skills or direction - and ending up on a dead-end route…getting in to work but not able to get on in work and progress to something better.
"I am determined now to change this. Everyone must be given the chance to get on a clear path to a skilled job. That could be an academic path – but it could also be a more practical, technical path, as I’ll be setting out today."
That may sound familiar from our new prime minister’s recent remarks on reforming technical and vocational education. But these words were not Mr Burnham’s, they were mine, from a policy speech at Battersea Power Station in December 2018.
It wasn't just me of course. Many ministers and prime ministers - Starmer, Sunak, Johnson, May, Cameron, Brown and even Blair (though people remember his 50 percent university target more) - have stated the need for parity of esteem between vocational and academic education
(And before someone cries "Aha - the uniparty!" ... even Nigel Farage says something remarkably similar).
It would take a lot more space than one newspaper article to fully unpack the issue. For now, suffice to say, parity of esteem cannot just be asserted or legislated for. In countries with top-rated vocational systems like Germany, it has been earned through their quality.
That is why, in government, we made the criteria for apprenticeships more stringent. It is also why we introduced T Levels, which involve more college days than typical previous vocational qualifications, employer-set standards, and a 45-day industry placement.
T Levels, because of the role of the industry placement and employer-set standards, also help ensure that local business needs are reflected. But there is a danger in making qualifications themselves too localised, because alongside social mobility we also need labour mobility. There is a reason we have a national education system.
Countries such as Germany do not see vocational and academic education as being in competition with one another; they are complementary. Education up to the age of 16 should provide a broad-based foundation, preparing young people for whichever pathway they choose to follow afterwards.
I was struck to see that the 14-year-olds I met at a secondary modern school in Saxony were studying the core academic subjects that we know as the English Baccalaureate. Specialised vocational training - the famous “dual system” - only began at 16. Indeed, even then, a German apprentice would typically continue to study a range of academic subjects during their two days each week at college.
Some here have long advocated for earlier specialisation in a vocational pathway, at 14. But this can carry risks; for many in those formative years, the most important thing is to keep your options open.
