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Traditional university degrees are failing to properly prepare young people for the world of work, a new think tank report has warned, arguing that a new wave of technical higher education institutions could help tackle the “increasingly dismal” prospects for young people across the country.
The report, which is backed by former Labour education secretary Lord David Blunkett and entrepreneur and inventor Sir James Dyson, said that traditional three-year degrees have “not delivered the skills that the modern economy needs” and the higher education system is “suffering a crisis in alignment”.
It warned that too many young people are acquiring qualifications of “limited economic value” when employers need a more skilled workforce.
The warnings come after 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 more than a decade. But employers have reported more than 250,000 vacancies they cannot fill because applicants lack the required skills, qualifications or experience, the report said.
The report studies the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) in Hereford – an employer-focused technical institution which teaches engineering skills through block-taught modules, a nine-to-five working week, and offers a two-year degree.
It has called on the government to establish a £50m fund to seed up to 10 more new NMITE-type providers in other higher education “cold spots” across the country.
The paper warned that the “prospects for the youth of this country look increasingly dismal”, adding: “The risk of becoming Neet is not evenly spread socially; it is more than twice as high for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.”
The report assessed 57 English towns and cities of 60,000 people or more with no university of their own, and it found the “strongest cases” for new technical institutions are overwhelmingly in the north – including Hartlepool, Grimsby, Doncaster and Barnsley.
Byron Evans, research fellow and co-author of the report, said: “Our higher education system is beginning to buckle – contributing to regional, social and economic ills.
“British history and our European neighbours show that technical educational institutions require a distinct and explicit focus to guard against academic drift.
“Fundamentally, 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.”
Throwing his weight behind the report, Lord Blunkett said: “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 added that the report “argues convincingly” that a new wave of technical institutions could provide “valuable opportunities to talented young people in cold-spot communities for whom the system is not delivering.”
Meanwhile, Sir James, founder of Dyson, said: “Britain doesn’t produce enough engineers. Only about 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.
“Britain needs many more places like these. This report shows how to build them.”