Towards A Technical Education City Region Event
Towards A Technical Education City Region
At this event, the Mayor of Greater Manchester will share his vision for an integrated technical education, skills & work city-region.
Watch a recording of the event embedded below or click here to watch on YouTube.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, has outlined new ambitious plans to create two equal pathways for young people when they make their GCSE choices – one academic and one focussed on technical careers.
As part of the Trailblazer Devolution Deal, Greater Manchester will have further oversight of post-16 technical skills, allowing local leaders to better shape how the city-region supports the one in three young people who do not want to go to university and match them into the skilled jobs being created in the local economy.
MBacc
As part of this, the Mayor has proposed the idea of a Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc) for technical education, which would sit alongside the existing English Baccalaureate (EBacc) for those wanting to pursue a university education.
T Levels
The MBacc will be designed to steer young people on the technical route to seven different career gateways at age 16 which represent the strongest areas of the Greater Manchester economy.
GMACS
As part of the proposals, Greater Manchester’s Apprenticeship and Careers Service (GMACS) will also be enhanced, sitting alongside the UCAS system available to university applicants.
Apprenticeships
At age 18, young people would then have the opportunity to progress to a higher-level apprenticeship, or degree apprenticeship, which are highly valued by Greater Manchester employers and give young people the chance to continue their learning.
Read more about the announcements made in this event in the press release.
Event details
Four years ago, the Mayor set out a vision for a GM integrated transport system which is now the Bee Network that everyone is familiar with and is making it simpler for the people of Greater Manchester to get around. Today the Mayor is committed to sharing his vision for an integrated technical education, skills & work city-region that applies those same principles of simplicity for technical education routes, with equity and ease of access across all pathways.
We have made great strides with the power Devolution has brought us in the adult space; connecting adult skills to current jobs and using bootcamps to co-design with employers to create unique provision. Our ambition is to start with what is already working well in the technical skills system, in this case the well-travelled route to University, and apply that in the context of technical education routeways.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “To achieve our ambitions, we need to integrate the skills system, giving young people a clear sight of the available opportunities by matching employers and learners. The system would boost Government’s delivery of T-levels, through more joined up working with colleges and businesses.
“A reformed and simplified technical education system, more closely aligned to employers’ needs, would enable the city-region to connect people to high quality jobs and opportunities. We have already begun the groundwork in Greater Manchester, working closely with partners such as the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Manchester Colleges Group, to create a system that builds stronger links between employers and further education and training. By giving the city-region further powers, we will be able to unlock its full potential and become the UK’s leading city for learners, of all ages and backgrounds, to build technical skills.”
Our Trailblazer Devolution Deal gives GM a new role in strategic oversight of technical education for the first time. Via a joint governance Board, this role will involve working with core partners to improve the alignment between the technical offer in GM and local labour market and extends devolution within adult skills to enable us to go further, faster, in helping to connect residents of all ages with labour market opportunities and progression
At this event the Mayor will outline his plans to deliver on this ambition including the introduction of an MBacc pathway for young people wanting to pursue a technical education route to develop the skills for today’s job market, and the establishment of our new Technical Education Board with DfE.