As Starmer’s government kickstarts a new era of devolution, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham is once more hoping to lead the way with the introduction of the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, a new educational pathway designed to connect young people with in-demand jobs in the city-region.
In a speech to educators from around Greater Manchester on Thursday, Mr Burnham set out his vision for the proposal, with many in the room feeling optimistic.
He said: “The young people who study in our schools our colleges can see the skyscrapers from their bedroom windows, or wherever they are in Greater Manchester – but they can’t yet see a path for them to these places, and this is our mission.
“Those opportunities are there, we just have to get young people to them, and if we don’t that becomes a risk to our growth.”
The creation of the new pathway is being heralded as an example of how devolution can, in the words of Mr Burnham, “join the dots between things that Whitehall just can’t see.”
In a meeting with the Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, Mr Burnham said that he had explained the MBacc and was liaising with the department, and that he was confident the scheme was “completely in tune” with what the government was trying to do.
Burnham also called on the government to halt the defunding of BTEC courses, which are slowly being phased out in favour of T-levels in an effort to streamline post-16 technical education. He pointed out that this would affect 4,500 learners across Greater Manchester studying subjects such as construction and health and social care.
The MBacc is designed to provide a “clear and equal” pathway for students considering technical routes and jobs in the local economy, and to offer structure and prestige for the roughly two-thirds of students who do not go on to university.
It is a grouping of GCSE subjects that students can choose at age 14, with seven pathways available corresponding to different sectors of Greater Manchester’s economy, such as Digital and Technology, and Engineering and Manufacturing. It stands in contrast to the EBacc, introduced under the Conservatives, which is designed to provide a strong academic route and cover subjects valued by universities.
Students will still study the core subjects of English, maths, and sciences. In addition to this, they will be steered towards subjects such as business or engineering, whereas under the EBacc students must study a language and history or geography.
Nonetheless, it was recognised that there remain several hurdles that could potentially dampen the MBacc’s impact.
Although the creation of the MBacc itself will not come at any extra cost to the Combined Authority, realising its full potential in years to come would require the expansion of learning spaces in schools and colleges and the training of extra staff.
Issues were also raised around the provision of apprenticeships, as figures show that around half of people doing apprenticeships drop out. Addressing this, Mr Burnham said that there would be rigorous checks in place to ensure that only high-quality placements were available under the scheme, but did not go in-depth into ensuring commitment on behalf of the student.
Expanding the number of work placements beyond the 1,000 that will be initially available in September will also be a challenge, with the team behind the MBacc hoping that employers will offer each other assistance and spread the word draw in new firms.
Lou Cordwell, a professor at the University of Manchester and the Chair of Greater Manchester Business board, said that they are already seeing HR departments get round the table.
“What’s really important is the positive experiences in the 1,000, not just for the young people but for the employers too”, she said.
“What’s important to the 25,000 is getting the 1,000 to be a great experience, and then spreading that word.”
Cordwell, who also chairs the Mayor’s real living wage group, said that living wages for apprentices were being looked at in order to achieve “inclusive growth”.
“If you grow up in a household that can afford for you to go and do two or three weeks work and earn no money that’s fantastic, and you should grab those opportunities – but if we’re going to be serious about opportunities for everyone, that automatically excludes people who can’t afford to earn no money for two or three weeks, so I think it’s really important we address that.”
It remains to be seen how employers would respond to this, as increasing the cost of providing apprenticeships could risk leading to some firms dropping them, which would be a blow to the MBacc.
For Dr Gregory, a lecturer in education at the University of Manchester, the biggest barrier could prove to be the very thing the MBacc has been designed to address – the stigma against technical qualifications.
According to Dr Gregory, whose research has focussed on how children are influenced in their subject choices, it is important teachers avoid giving advice that assigns a hierarchy to the two paths – one for ‘clever’ students and one for ‘write-offs’.
“The problem is both perceived [i.e, our attitudes] and concrete. To some extent the division is historical, and perceptions are often rooted in this – also, not all universities accept vocational qualifications, but I think this is changing.”
She also added that nobody had really seemed to get to grips with the divide.
