New nationally-set “vocational GCSEs” will be introduced in schools to replace existing technical awards, with league tables due to be adjusted to take account of them. The new qualifications will sit alongside existing “traditional” GCSEs, with assessment for 16-year-olds “aligned to 16 to 19 progression routes including A Levels, T Levels and the new V Levels”. Ministers have also announced a new “national mission” on work experience, which aims to create 200,000 placements. Earlier in the summer, the government announced that it would create new “technical pathways” for 14 to 16-year-olds. Education secretary Lucy Powell also suggested new GCSE-level technical qualifications may be needed as part of these pathways. The vocational GCSEs will be rolled out as early as 2029 for some subjects, the government said, a year after technical pathways are due to be introduced. Accountability measures will be adapted to recognise the new qualifications and give schools an incentive to offer them. The government said local leaders, schools, colleges and employers will “play a key role in deciding the subjects to reflect skills needs”. A consultation will be launched later in the year to shape what the qualifications will look like. They will be developed alongside the ongoing review of existing GCSEs prompted by last year’s curriculum review, to create “complementary qualifications” and to avoid “duplication or unnecessary overlap”. Subject options could include business management and finance, creative media production, digital tech, child development and building and construction, the DfE said. ‘Nationally-set’ The qualifications, which will be the same size as GCSEs, will have “nationally-set content, grading and assessment”, unlike existing technical awards. The DfE said technical awards “currently vary by provider with no nationally set content, and do not consistently support progression to further study”. Like existing GCSEs, assessment and grading for the new qualifications will be regulated by Ofqual. Subject content will be based on subject expert advice. Technical awards were introduced in 2015 under the coalition government. They were designed as vocational qualifications “on par with GCSEs” that had to meet “tough new criteria on employer value”. In 2024-25, 45 per cent of students in state-funded schools took at least one technical award. Analysis by Schools Week found that around nine in ten mainstream schools in England offered them in that same academic year. Not about ‘different routes’ Prime minister Andy Burnham said: “We’ve all heard someone say ‘school wasn’t really for me’ because they were not given the chance to study vocational courses as well as traditional subjects. “That one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working, so we’re building an education system that values both academic and technical paths.” Education secretary Lucy Powell said: “Our new Vocational GCSEs will give young people a stronger connection to the careers and industries shaping our economy, helping them discover and develop their talents while maintaining high standards across our education system. “This is not about creating different routes for different children. It is about ensuring every child has access to a rich and ambitious education that opens doors, creates opportunity and prepares them for life beyond the classroom.” ‘Well-intentioned’ Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of ASCL, said the reform was “well-intentioned”, but said the government needed to “ensure schools have the staffing and resources” to deliver the new qualifications. Ministers should also campaign to raise public awareness of vocational and technical routes, he said. “Without this wider action, revamping qualifications will simply mean more upheaval and workload for hard-pressed schools, without actually achieving the objective of boosting vocational and technical pathways.” He also welcomed the plans to change performance measures, but that there needed to be “flexibility between vocational and technical pathways”. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of NAHT, said: “If delivered in the right way, these GCSEs have the potential to increase awareness among parents and students of alternatives to more traditional academic routes, and boost the status and esteem in which vocational and technical options are held.” He added that they should avoid the pitfalls of existing GCSEs, where content became “unwieldy” and where there was “over-reliance on final exams”. Daniel Kebede, general secretary of the NEU, said: “Success is dependent on government providing sustained investment, resources, time and capacity for schools and teachers to develop and deliver high-quality vocational provision. “These proposed changes will fall at the first hurdle unless there is sufficient investment in schools and the workforce.” Meanwhile, David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “We are delighted to see this announcement in support of the Prime Minister’s promotion of young people having the opportunity to explore more vocational and technical options from 14. “Whenever they are asked, young people say they want to learn relevant skills to help them see a route into work after school and college. This announcement should help to achieve that, resulting in more young people feeling engaged and motivated by education at a crucial stage in their lives. “At the design stage, it will be crucial to work with the college sector to dovetail new KS4 qualifications with post-16 T levels, V Levels and occupational certificates to ensure they do help young people make a flying start at 16 when they be embark on their technical learning routes. “Colleges are ideal partners for schools in delivering the new qualifications because they offer industry standard facilities, staff experience and links to employers which will mean the learning experience is authentically different to school and properly employment focused. “The national mission on work experience should also embrace and bring into one place the promotion of post-16 work experience to employers to ensure that all young people on T Levels and other study programmes have access to high-quality work placements.” 200,000 work placements The work experience mission will work alongside businesses, including the Good Business Forum, to boost work experience opportunities in schools. Mayors and local authorities will help make links between schools and employers, which could include accountancy firms, digital media companies and construction companies. Number 10 North, Burnham’s flagship northern headquarters, will also set up work experience placements for 14 to 16-year-olds this academic year. From this month, schools have to ensure pupils get two weeks of work experience between year 7 and year 11.