Teenagers have backed plans to let 14-year-olds combine practical training with core academic subjects, according to polling published by the Department for Education, which also found that nearly half believe vocational routes are looked down on by their peers.
The department said 84 per cent of young people supported new options for 14-year-olds mixing practical technical learning, such as coding, construction or manufacturing, with subjects including English and maths. The figures are being used to bolster a set of qualification reforms the government is rolling out between 2027 and 2029, at a time when 981,000 people aged 16 to 24 in the UK were not in education, employment or training in the three months to June, or 13 per cent of that age group, according to Office for National Statistics data compiled by the House of Commons Library.
The polling was carried out by Deltapoll for the department among 500 young people aged 14 to 18 between 31 July and 3 August. The fieldwork took place about seven weeks before ministers unveiled the Vocational GCSEs that the results are presented as supporting, and the department's release does not set out the question wording, the sub-sample sizes or the weighting behind the individual figures.
Among those polled who are due to make, or have recently made, choices at 14 and 16, the department said 44 per cent believed vocational and technical routes were looked down on by their peers and 37 per cent felt pressure from their parents to choose academic options from 16. Asked about the future, 69 per cent named ending up in a job they did not enjoy as their biggest concern, 52 per cent said they worried about having the right skills for future jobs and 46 per cent were concerned that advances in artificial intelligence could reduce employment opportunities.
Lucy Powell, the Education Secretary, said:
"The message from young people is clear: they want more choice and more opportunities to develop practical skills that lead to rewarding and prosperous careers.
"They're motivated by the opportunities ahead, yet too many still feel the weight of outdated attitudes towards vocational and technical education, that no longer reflect what they want from life."
The Vocational GCSEs were announced on 23 September and are intended to replace the current Technical Awards, which the department says have no nationally agreed content. The new qualifications will have nationally set standards, with grading and assessment regulated by Ofqual, and are due in some subjects as early as September 2029 as part of broader technical pathways starting in 2028. English, maths and science will remain a common entitlement. A consultation is due to be published before the end of the year.
From September 2027, the first V Levels will be offered in education and early years, finance and accounting, and digital. Each is equivalent in size to one A level, allowing students to mix academic and vocational study. Two further qualifications arrive the same year: one-year Foundation Certificates as a bridging route for those who need to pass English and maths first, and two-year Occupational Certificates for those going directly into work or an apprenticeship.
Pepe Di'Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: "For too long vocational and technical pathways have played second fiddle to academic qualifications. Schools and colleges will welcome well-supported new qualifications which help to reverse this false divide and the negative perceptions it creates among students and families."
Oliver Coombs, 20, from Bath, who won bronze in additive manufacturing at WorldSkills Shanghai last month and is completing a higher level apprenticeship with the consultancy BIMTek and Bath College, said: "It's quite worrying knowing that the jobs we'll be doing in the future might look completely different from the jobs that exist today and it can be difficult to know whether you're developing the right skills."
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