Education overhaul | 'Businesses must step up' - HR reacts to Burnham's skills shake-up amid youth unemployment crisis

Pupils in England will be able to study technical subjects such as manufacturing and artificial intelligence alongside core academic learning from Year 10, under reforms announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham.

The new pathways, which will be connected to the needs of local industries, are expected to be running by 2028. They form part of a wider attempt to strengthen the route between education and employment at a time when more than one million young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), the highest level recorded in more than 12 years.

Further measures announced by the government include a new apprenticeship bursary worth up to £4,500 a year per household, intended to ensure families receiving Universal Credit are not financially disadvantaged when a young person begins an apprenticeship.

The government will also fully fund apprenticeship training for eligible under-25s from 1 August, alongside financial support of up to £8,000 for employers taking on apprentices. Ministers have set a target of creating 50,000 new youth apprenticeships by the end of the current Parliament.