City MPs talk apprenticeships and new school over breakfast with employers

Two Doncaster MPs discussed apprenticeships and a new school for the city during a breakfast with 25 employers at Doncaster UTC yesterday.

Doncaster Central MP Sally Jameson, Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme MP Lee Pitcher, and the local business leaders also heard presentations from the University Technical College’s leaders and students during the morning event.

The newest member of the 44-strong UTC network, Doncaster UTC opened in 2020 and delivers a specialist engineering, digital media, technology and science curriculum to several hundred students, in collaboration with 34 employer partners.

Thirty per cent of the UTC’s leavers progress onto an apprenticeship after leaving the school, versus a national average of five per cent, employers were told yesterday.

The UTC has also made inroads to decreasing the gender split among students taking engineering subjects.

The school's first principal Garath Rawson, who is now deputy chief executive of the UTC’s multi-academy trust Brighter Futures Learning Partnership Trust, told the audience that when the UTC first opened, the gender ratio for engineering was 80 per cent female to 20 per cent male. It is now closer to 60-40. Several students from Years 9 and 13 also gave presentations at the event.

The Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which supports the England-wide UTC network, spoke to the employers and MPs about the importance of employer engagement and of delivering a technical education curriculum at pre-16.

Last year, the Department for Education approved two new UTCs – another for Doncaster and also one for Southampton.

The new Doncaster UTC will specialise in health science and green technologies and will allow more young people in the area to benefit from a UTC education, as the original school has become heavily oversubscribed.

Sally Jameson MP commented: “I was delighted to visit Doncaster UTC and hear how it is both changing lives for so many young people who are aspiring to study at university or pursue an apprenticeship, and how the UTC collaborates with employers in South Yorkshire.

“I am excited that we will have a second UTC in the city as it is vital that we invest in skills education for the local economy.”

Lee Pitcher MP commented: “UTCs are really brilliant. I know this from personal experience. Coming from a global engineering company – and as one of the newly elected MPs to have held a senior role at a former FTSE 100 company – I know too well how we need to bring inspiring young people into industry.

“UTCs recognise talent in every single student and give them the best possible journey. Doncaster UTC is a gem and most amazing.”

Garath Rawson commented: “We were pleased to welcome Sally, Lee and a great many of our employer partners to the UTC this morning.

“It is excellent that we are able to provide a forum for discussion between political and business stakeholders. Employer engagement is a core tenet of the UTC model and we are very proud of how we have built partnerships with our local businesses.”

“We look forward to taking part in similar events in the future.”

Baker Dearing Educational Trust chief executive Simon Connell commented: “Events such as the business breakfast are vital for strengthening links between employers and UTCs so businesses are encouraged to run projects for students. Also, hopefully, so businesses offer apprenticeships and jobs to UTC students once they leave.

“These events are also useful for demonstrating to employers how the UTC model allows them to directly influence what is being taught in schools, so young people leave education ready to fill skills shortages and drive innovation in industry.”