Prime Minister Announces New Technical Education Routes During Derby Factory Visit
The package includes bursaries worth up to £4,500, fully funded training for eligible under-25s and more than 22,000 new college places.
- On Tuesday, July 28, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced sweeping education reforms pledging £287 million to create over 22,000 new college places for year 10 students combining academic and technical education.
- Burnham aims to end Britain's decades-long preference for university over vocational training, seeking to fix the youth unemployment crisis by connecting young people to technical pathways linked to local industries.
- Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden announced a new bursary worth up to £4,500 per household for Universal Credit families, while the government will fully fund apprenticeship training for all eligible under-25s from August 1.
- Reforms include changing Ofsted's approach to increase recognition for schools providing high-quality technical education, integrating work experience and apprenticeships directly into local curricula.
- Tom Middlehurst, deputy director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders , warned rural and coastal areas lack transport and infrastructure to access these schemes, risking entrenched regional inequalities.
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Burnham and Powell want to bring back stupid
DERBY, ENGLAND - JULY 28: British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and Education Secretary Lucy Powell visit Alstom, on the day he unveils new technical educational routes aimed at tackling youth unemployment, on July 28, 2026 in Derby, England. (Photo by Temilade Adelaja - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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Prime Minister visits Alstom’s Litchurch Lane factory in Derby
Alstom has hosted Prime Minister Andy Burnham in his second week in office at its Litchurch Lane Works factory in Derby, where he announced the launch of new technical education routes. During the visit, the Prime Minister met around 100 current and former apprentices and graduates from Alstom and its supply chain partners, including Derby-born […]
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