Andy Burnham’s likely ascension to Downing Street could shift education policy to focus on the critical 14 to 19 age range. These are the young people who Burnham wanted to benefit from his Greater Manchester baccalaureate (MBacc), through clear pathways to good jobs and training opportunities, bringing much needed parity of esteem between technical and academic routes. Baker Dearing has spent 16 years creating and supporting university technical colleges (UTCs), technical education-focused secondary schools that traditionally enrol from 14. Burnham has supported the UTC approach, writing in a 2025 Policy Exchange report: “University technical colleges play a vital role in giving young people the technical skills and real-world experience they need to succeed… This is a tried and tested model, and one that is much needed across more schools in England.” As mayor of Manchester, Burnham has also supported our development of UTC sleeves, which are technical education pathways in mainstream schools. His support for these models suggests he thinks shifting education to focus on 14 to 19-year-olds could help address the findings of Alan Milburn’s interim report, that traditional support mechanisms and routes for young people are not leading them to positive destinations. Informed decisions UTCs originally accepted students from age 14, as evidence suggested that is when they decide or start seriously considering what careers they want to pursue. The idea is that young people arrive with a good or a developing idea of what discipline they want to pursue and receive the technical and employability skills and links to employers needed to ease their progression to a sustained destination. The later starting age also means students are better positioned to make informed education decisions. They can prepare for employment in a more focused and informed manner, by studying at a more advanced level subjects such as engineering and creative media, before progressing to T-levels, apprenticeships, and higher education. Leaver destinations demonstrate the success of this approach. In 2025, half of the year 13 UTC leavers who progressed to an apprenticeship started at level 4 or above, compared with 2 per cent nationally. Eighty per cent started a STEM apprenticeship. Half progressed to university, compared witho 49 per cent nationally. The MBacc provides a line of sight for 14-year-olds in Manchester into the jobs they could progress to at age 18. By working with employers and local partners, it aims to offer work experience, including T-level placements, and push for apprenticeships in high demand occupations. It rewards young people for developing their skills, experience, and confidence for employment. Last November, Burnham visited Laurus Ryecroft high school in Tameside with our life president Lord Baker to launch our partnership on the award. So we can attest to how passionate he feels about ensuring parity of esteem for the technical routes that the MBacc champions. DfE ‘rewiring’ As part of his “Manchesterism”, the would-be prime minister could seek to roll out a similar offer to 14 to 19-year-olds across England. The Conservatives’ English baccalaureate encouraged schools to focus on other subjects and Labour’s new national curriculum, while it encourages schools to deliver technical awards, expects them to deliver a lot besides. Whether Burnham wants to use the levers of Downing Street or his new “No 10 North” to revise that settlement or offer some incentives for schools to broaden their curriculum offer, we will have to wait and see. However, pivoting the education system to focus on 14 to 19-year-olds will take a serious rewiring of the Department for Education. It will also require, as it has in Manchester, a lot of hard work winning around schools and multi-academy trusts, which would require significant support and investment to deliver the high-quality skills provision for which businesses are crying out. There also need to be many more apprenticeship opportunities so, as well as parity of esteem, technical pathways have parity of accessibility.