Authors: Tami McCrone, Kerry Martin, David Sims, Chloe Rush (National Foundation for Educational Research)
Since 2010, University Technical Colleges (UTC) have become an important addition to the UK education system and this report explores UTCs and their contribution to technical education. We find the main challenges for UTCs is in recruiting suitable employers, sufficient numbers of students and recruiting and retaining high-calibre staff as they can often be perceived as a competitor by local schools. Despite this, UTC approaches to curriculum design, employer engagement and project based learning has helped to create well-rounded, work-ready students, in addition to improving students’ confidence about their next steps after UTC education. We conclude with a number of helpful recommendations for other UTCs to continue best practice.
Recommendations
- Smaller learning environments, higher teacher-to-student ratios; high-quality teaching; input from industry; pastoral support; longer schools days and increased teaching time are contributing factors for successful UTCs
- New UTCs should develop a clear mission and raise its profile and reputation among stakeholders
- Dialogue with local schools will enable better collaboration rather than competition
- Invest in building quality relationships with employers and maintain collaboration with industry partners