Removing Barriers to the Take Up of Technical Education

Client: Gatsby Charitable Foundation

The UK needs up to 700,000 more technicians in the next decade to meet demand from employers. But beyond plugging skills gaps, more people choosing technical education is vital for social mobility – it provides in-demand skills and knowledge, increasing learners’ chances of securing well-paid jobs in growing industries.

Gatsby aims to increase awareness, understanding and consideration of technical qualifications. To achieve this, Kindred has planned and delivered three campaigns over the past four years: 1. Technicians: We Make the Difference. Over half of 11–16-year-olds would consider becoming a technician, rising to 71% of those who’ve seen the campaign. 2. T-levels for parents. Parents are the single biggest influence on their kids when it comes to education decision-making, but they largely default to what they know. The T-levels for parents campaign resulted in 70% awareness, and of those, 83% would be supportive of their child taking one. 3. Talking Futures. While the other two campaigns were successfully building knowledge, research showed parents and kids weren’t talking to each other about this stuff. We launched Talking Futures to encourage regular, informed conversations about all the options (including technical qualifications). The result: More people now understand the options available to their child, are supportive of technical qualifications and more young people are considering technician roles for their future career. With more parents feeling positive about technical education, and actively talking to their children about it, young people can achieve their potential in highly skilled careers, supported by those they trust most.