Government to scrap target for 50% of young people to go to university

Sir Keir Starmer has said Labour will scrap the current university target and replace it with a new one for two-thirds of young people to go to university or do a “gold standard apprenticeship”.

The Prime Minister told the Labour party conference that he will introduce a new target for two-thirds of people to either go to university, further education or do a gold standard apprenticeship by the age of 25.

This will replace the target for 50% of young people to go to university.

Sir Keir said: “Conference, while you will never hear me denigrate the aspiration to go to university, I don’t think the way we currently measure success in education – that ambition to get 50% of kids to uni – I don’t think that’s right for our times, because if you’re a kid or a parent of a kid who chooses an apprenticeship, what does it say to you? Do we genuinely as a country afford them the same respect?

“Because we should, but I can’t help feeling that my dad was right.

“So, conference, today I can announce we will scrap that target and replace it with a new ambition that two-thirds of our children should go either to university or take a gold standard apprenticeship.”

To support reforms, the Government will invest nearly £800 million in extra funding to help 16 to 19-year-olds next year.

The funding will come from the existing Spending Review settlement, Labour said, and will support 20,000 more students.

The new target also includes an ambition for 10% of young people to be pursuing higher technical education or apprenticeships that the economy needs by 2040.

The Prime Minister also announced 14 new Technical Excellence Colleges, which will be focused on sectors like advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital.

Labour has “backed” young people with its education policy announcements during the party’s Liverpool conference, Sir Keir added.

He said: “I can also announce that further education – so long a Cinderella service; ignored, because politicians’ kids don’t go there – we will make it a defining cause for this Labour Government, with higher standards in every college. The quality of teaching? Raised.

“More apprenticeships, more technical colleges – technical excellence colleges – qualifications linked to jobs, rooted in their communities.”

Sir Keir said that his announcement amounted to “young people, backed”.

He continued: “The class ceiling? Smashed. The grafters? Finally included in our country’s highest aspirations.”

There will be further detail in the upcoming post-16 skills white paper.