Australia, Canada, and a lesson for England’s 14-16 routes

The prime minister’s recent proposals on 14-16 routes have reignited an important debate about pathways and, importantly, repositioned technical education as a first-choice route rather than a second-best option.

Drawing on my Churchill Fellowship, which funded my exploration of work-connected learning systems in Australia and Canada, I believe the bigger lesson lies elsewhere.

The systems that impressed me most did not begin by asking what new qualification should be created. They began by asking how progression could be intentionally designed around young people, local opportunity and long-term outcomes.

Across every system I visited, one thing became increasingly clear: while the models differed, the underlying design principles were remarkably consistent.

People before institutions

Education systems are designed around young people’s journeys into opportunity rather than organisational boundaries. Schools, FE providers, higher education institutions, employers and local services see themselves as integrated contributors to one progression journey, deliberately removing barriers that prevent young people moving successfully into adult life.

Progression must be designed

Successful transitions are never left to chance. They are engineered through curriculum, work-connected learning, technical pathways and employer engagement. The strongest systems design both progression and re-engagement, ensuring young people can move forward, or find their way back, through intentional pathways.

Experiences should carry recognised value

Learning beyond the classroom counts. Work experience, technical projects and employer-designed learning contribute to recognised achievement, giving young people trusted evidence of their capabilities alongside and within academic qualifications.

Partnership creates infrastructure and opportunity

Employers, FE providers, universities and intermediary organisations are not simply external partners; they are integral parts of the progression system itself. Genuine co-design, enabling timetables and shared responsibility make ambitious pathways possible, at scale.

Progression is shaped by people and place

National ambition provides consistency, but local systems bring pathways to life. Education, employers, civic leaders and communities work together to reflect the distinctive opportunities and workforce priorities of their area.

These principles came to life in very different ways.

South Australia’s flexible industry pathways (FIPs) demonstrate how regional government can enable local innovation while maintaining consistently high standards. FIPs are accessible to15-18-year-old learners in every school. Co-designed with employers, government-approved and aligned to regional workforce priorities, they make intelligent use of existing qualifications while creating rigorous, employer-informed pathways into sectors that matter to local economies.

In July 2026, I visited Calgary, where more than 12,000 learners had enrolled on funded summer technical programmes, completing around 120 guided learning hours through intensive three-week vacation courses. Alberta has expanded opportunity not by creating more qualifications, but by delivering existing accredited programmes with greater flexibility around the core curriculum.  They add opportunity in and around the core curriculum rather than competing with it. Ministry-approved locally developed courses allow successful programmes to be adopted across the province, combining local innovation with consistent standards.

At Fusion Collegiate in Calgary, flexible programmes enable young people to access connected pathways designed by local skills needs, while carefully designed discovery routes keep learners connected to progression. Their impressive “gap year” pathways programme re-connected lost learners up to the age of 20 to tangible jobs and progression into the workplace, when the young person was ready and supported as an end-to-end pathway.

Different models, the same design principles: progression designed around learners, recognised value for experiences, genuine partnership and shared local responsibility for creating opportunity. Ultimately, every one of these systems sends young people the same message: there are multiple successful futures, and each deserves to be planned for with equal ambition.

That may be the most important lesson for England: successful progression is designed, not left to chance.

If Andy Burnham’s proposals are the catalyst for genuine reform, our focus should not simply be on creating new pathways. It should be on creating the conditions that allow purposeful progression to flourish: curriculum flexibility, mature local partnerships, intelligent use of existing qualifications, coordinated delivery across institutions and accountability measures that reward purposeful progression alongside attainment.

England already possesses many of these building blocks. The challenge now is to connect them into a coherent progression system.

My forthcoming Churchill Fellowship report explores further examples from Australia, Canada and Ireland and practical recommendations for England’s education and skills system.

Ultimately, this is not simply a debate about qualifications or technical education because there isn’t one future worth preparing young people for. There are many. Our responsibility is to give every young person a clear line of sight to the future they choose, and the means to get there. That is what it means to design progression well.