New PM Andy Burnham has been vocally advocating for the benefits of vocational training since he took office, and indeed before with programmes such as the Manchester Baccelaureate, an educational framework created and implemented by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and intended as a practical alternative to the university route to education which will connect young people to sectors through technical education, for eventual employment in industries key to the regional economy.
Now one key figure in the region’s education sector has suggested that Burnham’s ideas don’t go far enough, and that rather than looking for alternatives to university, we should be asking why universities don’t tailor their own courses to the skills required in the modern workplace.
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Gareth Smith chief of strategy and student life at Manchester’s UA92, the higher education institution co-founded by Lancaster University and members of Manchester United’s famous Class of ’92, including Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil Neville, and Nicky Butt, said:
“The headlines don’t go far enough. Andy Burnham is right to champion vocational education, but the national debate still frames it as degrees versus vocational training, when that’s the wrong conversation.
The real reform should be challenging universities to design every degree around employment outcomes, regardless of subject – if a degree doesn’t clearly improve a student’s career prospects, universities should ask why they’re offering it.”
That might come as a shock to some in academia, but Smith is basing his opinions on his real life experience, not least working alongside then Greater Manchester Mayor Burnham on the Manchester Baccalaureate: “We’ve worked with Andy Burnham previously on these issues through the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate and one point we’ve consistently challenged is the idea that young people have to choose one route or the other. There isn’t a binary choice between vocational and academic.
“Many of the people wearing those hard hats are graduate engineers, surveyors and architects. Doctors also follow one of the most vocational education pathways there is.
“While there will always be a place for subjects studied for their intrinsic value, universities also have a responsibility to be honest about graduate outcomes. English Literature, for example, consistently has one of the weakest employment outcomes.
“Students deserve to understand where a degree is likely to lead before they commit years of their lives and thousands of pounds to it.”
For Smith, the issue isn’t one of abandoning academia, but rather bringing an end to the perceived dichotomy of either/or academic/vocational training, which in reality could mean upending decades, or even centuries, of pedagogical orthodoxy.
“Young people shouldn’t have to choose between an academic education and a career-focused one. They deserve both,” he insisted.
“The universities that thrive over the next decade will be those that stop seeing academic excellence and employability as competing priorities. Government should expect every university to demonstrate that industry projects, placements and professional qualifications are embedded into every degree from day one.”
It’s certainly likely to prove a controversial opinion among traditional educators, but Smith’s opinions already have some support among employers, particularly as the largely unacademic matter of AI encroaches ever further into everyday life and work.
Gareth Hoyle, entrepreneur and founder of Yorkshire digital marketing agency Marketing Signals, has a clear message for students who may feel their results have fallen short as A-level results loom in the coming days:
“We’re at the beginning of a shift that will reshape almost every industry,” he said. “The people who will thrive aren’t necessarily those who got the best grades; they’re the ones who understand how to work with AI tools and genuinely harness them. That’s a skill you can start building for free this week, on your own terms. And unlike an A-level result, it’s one you can keep sharpening for the rest of your career.”
