- Young people to benefit from prestigious, world-class further education system aligned with future jobs market
- New target introduced: two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning – academic, technical or apprenticeships – by age 25
- Part of the Plan for Change, reforms will ensure the country’s education system delivers opportunity for all
LONDON, England – Young people across the country will gain the skills needed to thrive in tomorrow’s job market, as prime minister Keir Starmer, today announced a package of reforms to elevate and transform the education skills system.
The reforms include a bold new target: two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning – academic, technical or apprenticeships – by age 25, up from 50 percent today. A sub-target will ensure at least 10 percent of young people pursue higher technical education or apprenticeships by age 25 by 2040, a near doubling of today’s figure – helping support our economic needs.
Schools will be tasked with ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination, supported by Ofsted, with a guaranteed college or FE provider place available as a safety net.
Young people will also benefit from 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges, focused on high-growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy, and digital – helping deliver excellent provision in these key sectors. This builds on the 10 Technical Excellence Colleges already announced for construction and five for defence.
Raising standards is central to the reforms. Colleges will be expected to deliver at least 100 hours of face-to-face English and maths teaching for those who haven’t passed those GCSEs, supported by targeted funding and training. To bolster the quality of teaching, we will support further education teachers with new structured professional development from initial teacher training through to leadership.
The government will hold the sector to account through the new Ofsted framework, and new Regional Improvement Teams in Further Education will support college improvement, including how they meet skills needs of their communities, and empower high-performing leaders to support others – driving attendance and standards.
A single funding model for all Level 4-6 courses will be introduced, with FE and HE courses brought under the regulation of the Office for Students and with new awarding powers for providers offering higher technical courses, so they can more easily deliver these skills. Backed by the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, this will ensure equal access to student finance for higher-level study in further and higher education providers, including modular courses aligned to priority skills.
To support these reforms, the government will also invest nearly £800m extra into funding for 16–19-year-olds next year (2026-7). Coming from the existing Spending Review settlement, this funding will support an additional 20,000 students.
The announcement builds on the reintroduction of targeted, means-tested maintenance grants announced by the Education Secretary yesterday, which will support low-income students to access and excel in higher education, either at college or university.
The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper will set out recommendations on post-16 qualifications, informed by the curriculum and assessment review.
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