Microsoft, Heinz and the BBC back Andy Burnham's education plans... but the government won't
26.09.2023 - 16:09
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Sixty businesses have backed Andy Burnham's plans for technical education which the government has branded 'narrow' and 'unequal'. Microsoft, Heinz and the BBC are among the big employers to sign up to the mayor's scheme.
Mr Burnham wants businesses to work with schools, colleges and universities so that young people have 'clear sight' of career opportunities in sectors such as technology, construction and manufacturing. The Labour mayor hopes that creating the Manchester Baccalaureate will offer an alternative route into these sectors for the two-thirds of young people who do not go to university.
The MBacc would consist of a set of GCSEs which would lead to further study through BTECs, T-Levels and degree apprenticeships within the seven sectors. It promises to maximise the chances of getting a good job in those sectors while boosting the workforce in the local economy with home-grown talent.
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The first schools to sign up to the scheme are set to offer the MBacc to some of their students from September 2024 and Mr Burnham hopes that the system will be in place across the city-region by the end of the decade. It comes after the government agreed to set up a new joint education board with Greater Manchester as part of the 'trailblazer' devolution deal earlier this year.
But months after signing the new deal, the Department for Education (DfE) described the MBacc proposal as 'unequal' and said that it would 'narrow the opportunities available to young people'. Education secretary Gillian Keegan said the Greater Manchester mayor does not have the power to
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