Parliamentary Search

Written question asked by James McMurdock (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 28 August 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 2 September 2026. It was answered by Josh MacAlister (Labour) on Friday, 4 September 2026 on behalf of the Department for Education.

Vocational Education: Unemployment

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the press release entitled PM: From today Britain will value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap, published on 28 July 2026, whether the Department has estimated the potential impact of the reforms on youth unemployment.

Answer

The department is still at an early stage of developing the new technical education pathways. Our ambition is to give every young person access to high-quality technical education pathways from age 14 and support progression into further study, training and skilled employment. As policy develops, we will continue to consider the evidence needed to support implementation and evaluation of the pathways.

In addition, the government has announced a package of measures aimed at preventing young people from becoming NEET. These include strengthening identification and support for those at risk, enabling better data sharing between local authorities, schools, and further education providers, and introducing a ‘Risk of NEET’ indicator tool. Schools will also have a stronger role in ensuring every pupil has a clear post-16 destination.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
25640
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Unemployment Young people Vocational education
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk