Government Boosts Technical Education in U.K.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will plow 170 million pounds into setting up new technology institutes, placing scientific education at the heart of her drive to boost Britain’s productivity through a new industrial strategy unparalleled since the 1980s, according to Bloomberg.

The institutes will specialize in teaching science, technology, engineering and math, providing high-school graduates with the skills demanded by local employers, May’s office said in an e-mailed statement. The prime minister also aims to boost teaching of those subjects in universities, as well as math in high schools, as part of a “modern industrial strategy“ that she described as “a critical part of our plan for post-Brexit Britain.“

“It is a vital step towards building a country where prosperity is shared and there is genuine opportunity for all,“ May said in the statement. “Our action will help ensure young people develop the skills they need to do the high-paid, high-skilled jobs of the future. That means boosting technical education and ensuring we extend the same opportunity and respect we give university graduates to those people who pursue technical routes.“

May has placed the industrial strategy at the heart of her effort to define her government beyond Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union. The plan aims to draw together policy on transport, education, telecommunications, energy and construction to ensure businesses nationwide have the skills, links and supply chains needed to expand and diversify into new and growing industries such as renewable energy and robotics.

May’s focus on technical education is likely to please businesses. A survey of 800 members of the Institute of Directors, a business lobbying group, found that their top policy priority is a long-term skills strategy, with three-quarters of companies saying it’s “very important.“ Infrastructure improvements and better broadband were their second and third choices.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond has already outlined spending on roads and broadband as well as a 23 billion-pound National Productivity Fund designed to spur growth. The nation’s economic output per hour has effectively stagnated for a decade, only returning to its pre-recession levels in October.