Overview

• The new ambition sets a goal for two-thirds of people to have gone to university, further education or a gold standard apprenticeship by age 25.
• Nearly £800 million is earmarked for 16–19-year-olds next year to support the shift, backing roughly 20,000 additional students.
• The government will create 14 Technical Excellence Colleges focused on sectors such as advanced manufacturing, clean energy and digital.
• A long-term benchmark aims for at least 10% of young people to pursue higher technical education or employer-aligned apprenticeships by 2040.
• The move scraps the Blair-era 50% university target and elevates apprenticeships and further education, with more detail promised in the forthcoming post-16 skills white paper.