England will introduce new vocational GCSEs for 14-year-olds from 2029, alongside existing academic subjects, as part of reforms aimed at giving teenagers more practical routes into employment.
The new qualifications could cover areas such as building and construction, business management and finance, and child development.
The government is also setting a national target for employers to provide 200,000 work experience opportunities for under-16s.
Education Secretary Lucy Powell said the vocational GCSEs would give young people a “stronger connection” to careers, while Prime Minister Andy Burnham described the reforms as a move away from a “one size fits all” education system.
Powell told BBC Breakfast that schools would be allowed to focus on subjects linked to employment opportunities in their local communities.
She also said she wanted to improve the “esteem, respect and recognition” of existing vocational qualifications.
The new qualifications will have standards set nationally by Ofqual, the education regulator, to ensure their grades are comparable with those of other GCSEs.
They are expected to gradually replace qualifications such as BTEC Tech Awards.
The vocational GCSEs are also intended to provide a progression route for students aged 16 and above, allowing them to continue with related courses at colleges, including the new V-levels and T-levels.
However, school and education leaders have raised concerns about the resources and staffing needed to introduce the courses.
Martin Haworth, executive headteacher at Wright Robinson College in East Manchester, said the qualifications must “add value” to existing options, while schools would need specialist teachers and funding to adapt classrooms for practical learning.
New analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that school funding per pupil is expected to increase by 9 per cent in real terms between 2025-26 and 2028-29.
Economist Luke Sibieta said expanding vocational education would represent a “big change”, coming alongside major reforms to support pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
He also questioned whether there would be enough teachers to deliver technical and vocational subjects.
The Association of Colleges urged schools to work with further education colleges, which it said could provide industry-standard facilities and qualified staff.
Its chief executive, David Hughes, said such partnerships would help ensure learning was “authentically different to school and properly employment focused”.
Daniel Kebede of the National Education Union said “sustained investment and resources” would be required for the reforms to succeed.
The government is also encouraging employers to provide work placements, with businesses being asked to contact their local careers hubs.
Existing rules already require secondary schools in England to provide “meaningful” work experience for pupils aged 14 to 16.
The Conservatives criticised the plans, with shadow education secretary Laura Trott warning that the reforms could undermine existing standards.
She said “Better schools will continue to protect rigorous subjects but disadvantaged children will be steered towards easier routes, lowering expectations for the very pupils who need high standards most”.
The Liberal Democrats also cautioned that the new vocational GCSEs should not become a “pipeline” directing disadvantaged pupils away from academic subjects.
