Capital City College responds to interim report on young people and work

Capital City College has welcomed the publication of Alan Milburn’s ‘Young people and work: interim report‘, highlighting the need to rethink how success is defined for young people and to strengthen the role of technical and vocational education.

The report examines the barriers facing young people as they move from education into employment, and calls for a more balanced system that better supports routes into skilled work.

Angela Joyce, Chief Executive Officer of Capital City College, said the findings reflect challenges the college sector has been raising for years.

“Alan Milburn’s report shines a light on a problem the college sector has known for years: too many young people are still being funnelled towards university as the only marker of success, while technical and vocational routes are treated as second best. That narrow view is failing a generation of young people and leaving major gaps in our economy.

“If we genuinely care about social mobility, we have to stop presenting young people with a single gold-standard pathway. Apprenticeships and technical qualifications offer a direct route into long-term careers, yet too often these opportunities are still seen as second choice particularly when young people are at school.

“But apprenticeships only exist because employers choose to create them. Businesses are the ones taking on the cost, responsibility and long-term commitment of bringing young people into their workforce. That matters, particularly at a time when rising employment costs risk making it harder, not easier, for employers to invest in training and recruitment. It is important that businesses that are investing in young people and helping build the skilled workforce the economy urgently needs are recognised and celebrated.

“The Department for Education’s qualification reforms are a welcome step and have the potential to create clearer progression routes from college into an apprenticeship. The next challenge is making sure more employers are able to create those opportunities.”

The full report is available online.

Share!