Ed Miliband unveils plan for technical degrees if Labor wins 2015 election

Labor leader warns that 'forgotten 50%' of young people who choose not to follow a traditional academic route are at risk


The first generation to be born in the 21st century will be worse off than their parents unless changes are made to open up the education system, Ed Miliband will say on Tuesday as he outlines plan for new technical degrees.


The Labour leader will warn that the country risks "going into decline" unless it creates greater opportunities for the so called "forgotten 50%" of young people who choose not to follow a traditional academic route.


Milib and will say that a Labour government would introduce new technical degrees to meet the demand for hundreds of thousands of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) technicians needed for infrastructure projects such as the new high speed rail line and the Thames Tideway.


The Labour leader believes that Britain has a strong track record on providing world class academic degrees in engineering and maths at institutions such as Imperial College London. But he believes that Britain lags behind Germany which has a highly developed vocational system.


The vast majority (90%) of apprenticeships in Germany last between three to four years and are at Level 3 (A Level equivalent) or higher. In Britain only 36% of apprenticeships last three years and are at Level 3 or above.


Miliband will say that a Labour government would provide two pathways to the technical degree in England that could cover subjects such as information and communications technology (ICT), design and the STEM subjects. In the first place it will introduce a technical baccalaureate for 16-19 year old with qualifications to Level 3 that would be recognised by employers.Students would take part in a work placement.


The second route would be through enhanced apprenticeships. At the moment there are 100,000 people on Level 3 apprenticeships. The Sutton Trust, whose Higher Ambitions summit will be opened by Miliband, says that this needs to be increased to 200,000 or 300,000.


Miliband will say in his speech to the summit that the new technical degrees will be the priority for the expansion of university places. He will say: "I am clear that the priority for expansion of university places must be based on assessment of what Britain, our young people and our businesses need in the future when we will compete with the rest of the world on quality, innovation, science and skills. So my priority for will be technical degrees, delivered in partnership with business and universities.


"This is a new direction for our country: equal status for vocational qualifications from school to university and beyond; equipping our young people with the skills they need; and providing our country with a reason to be confident for the future so we can compete with the very best economies in the world in a race to the top."


The Labour leader will say that Britain risks going backwards unles action is taken. "For the first time in a century there is the real danger of our children doing worse than their parents, of the Promise of Britain being broken, and our country going into decline. We cannot afford to allow people's talents to go undeveloped and their hopes unfulfilled."


Professor Dominic Shellard, vice chancellor of De Montfort University Leicester, said: "We welcome this announcement. Helping our graduates find employment is our top priority and we work closely with industry in order to make sure our graduates have the skills that employers need, so we are always pleased to hear of initiatives that will enable more universities to work alongside businesses in this way."