Greater Manchester Combined Authority has announced further development on the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate.
Known as the MBacc, the new technical qualification comes as part of the Mayor’s drive to boost productivity and offer a genuine and equal alternative to the university route. The MBacc will launch to Year 9 and 11 pupils in September this year, with today bringing news of the subjects that will form the core of the qualification.
Where the current core GCSE subjects are English (Language and Literature), Maths, and Science, the MBacc will add ICT to its core. Alongside this difference, where GCSEs offer options such as modern languages and humanities, the MBacc will offer options for further subjects including:
- Engineering
- Design and technology
- Business studies
- Drama
- Music
- Performing Arts
By offering a different range of subjects, young people will be given a “clear line of sight” from the age of 14. This will be done through seven gateways, with each of these linking to a sector that is growing further in Greater Manchester:
- Health and social care
- Digital and technology
- Construction and the Green Economy
- Financial and professional
- Education and early years
- Creative, culture and sport
By focusing on the sectors that are growing within Greater Manchester, learners will be given the skills that employers in the region value, as opposed to the skills and subjects that the top Universities value the most – as is the case with the English Baccalaureate. This will be done through labour market data.
Also included in the MBacc will be a pathway for those who wish to enter a career in the emergency services or the Bee Network.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said:
“For too long the English education system has been built around the needs of just a third of young people who go to university. That means that every year, thousands go through school without a clear path into a good career.
“Our answer is the MBacc – a game-changing new plan for technical education. We’re using our devolved powers to reset the scales and give young people a clear line of sight to good jobs and the steps that will take them there.
“If we don’t make this change now, it could be the single biggest barrier to future growth – and to the life chances of young people here. The needs of our economy are changing, and right now the system is not capable of keeping pace and meeting the needs of businesses or the ambitions of the next generation.”
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