Colleges’ role in global race

Given those twin concerns, the coalition’s formation of University Technical Colleges, designed to equip teenagers with the aptitude needed for modern business, is an important step – one which rightly seeks to undo the inherently flawed one-size-fits-all approach to education which flourished under the last Labour government.

While teaching unions have warned that separating technical education from mainstream schools could create a two-tier system, the reality is that the potential of too many of our young people has been squandered by forcing them down an academic route to which they are patently unsuited.

By focusing on filling the skills gap that presently exists in the UK in terms of providing high quality training in areas such as engineering, digital technology, science and healthcare – as well as instilling the all-important work ethic – the new UTCs not only offer an alternative path for youngsters who feel traditional schooling is not for them, but also provide grounds for optimism that Britain can in future hold its own against competing world economies.

It is therefore disappointing that the Sheffield University Technical College – which will be the first of its kind in Yorkshire when it opens in September – has had just 64 applications for the 120 places that are available.

Rather than indicating that these colleges are a bad idea, however, this reluctance to sign up should perhaps instead be seen as the legacy of years of rigid conformity to one prescriptive academic model.

As such, it is vitally important that UTCs are seen to deliver early results in terms of getting young people into employment or on to a higher education course that will lead directly to the first rung on the career ladder.

After all, this is the only way to ensure that this model comes to be viewed as an increasingly viable route for youngsters who feel mainstream education is not for them, rather than merely another passing fad that will lead to nothing.