Traditional university degrees are failing to properly prepare young people for the world of work, a new think tank report warns, arguing that a new wave of technical higher education institutions could help tackle the “increasingly dismal” prospects for young people across the country, reports BritPanorama.
The report, backed by former Labour education secretary Lord David Blunkett and entrepreneur and inventor Sir James Dyson, claims that traditional three-year degrees have “not delivered the skills that the modern economy needs” and that the higher education system is “suffering a crisis in alignment.”
It highlights that too many young people are acquiring qualifications of “limited economic value,” whereas employers are in need of a more skilled workforce.
These warnings follow the alarming statistic that the number of young people aged 16 to 24 not in education, employment, or training (Neets) topped a million earlier this year for the first time in over a decade. Employers have reported more than 250,000 vacancies that remain unfilled due to applicants lacking the required skills, qualifications, or experience, according to the report.
The study focuses on the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford – an employer-focused technical institution teaching engineering skills through block-taught modules and offering a two-year degree. The report calls on the government to establish a £50m fund to support the creation of up to ten new NMITE-type providers in higher education “cold spots” across the country.
The paper warns that the “prospects for the youth of this country look increasingly dismal,” mentioning that the risk of becoming Neet is more than twice as high for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Further analysis of 57 English towns and cities of 60,000 people or more, each lacking a university, identifies the strongest cases for new technical institutions primarily in the north, including Hartlepool, Grimsby, Doncaster, and Barnsley.
Byron Evans, research fellow and co-author of the report, remarked: “Our higher education system is beginning to buckle – contributing to regional, social, and economic ills.”
He emphasized the need for a distinct focus in technical educational institutions to prevent academic drift, citing historical examples from both British and European contexts.
“A roll-out of NMITE-type universities offers much needed diversity in degree-level provision – while supporting the crucial bedrock of technical skills required for any serious re-industrialisation of Britain,” he added.
In support of the report, Lord Blunkett stated: “Differential access to skills is one of the key drivers of regional inequality across Britain. The post-16 journey is vital for the needs of both SMEs and the large infrastructure programmes, which will be the driving force of substantial economic growth.”
He noted that the report “argues convincingly” for a new wave of technical institutions, which could present “valuable opportunities to talented young people in cold-spot communities for whom the system is not delivering.”
Meanwhile, Sir James Dyson, founder of Dyson, expressed concern over the lack of engineering graduates in Britain, highlighting that only one in 11 British graduates studied engineering or related subjects. “Without them, we can’t make things, invent new products and technologies – or compete against the rest of the world,” he stated.
He concluded, “Britain needs many more places like these. This report shows how to build them.”
