Technical universities proposed to get northern Neets into work The Times Sian Bradley, Northern Correspondent | Modupe Omitola Technical universities proposed to get northern Neets into work Employer-led institutions would get young northerners into skilled jobs, and help Britain compete with global engineering advancements, upporters say Technical universities in industrial towns could focus on skills needed in local industries, Policy Exchange suggests GETTY IMAGES Sian Bradley , Northern Correspondent , and Modupe Omitola Monday October 19 2026, 11.32pm BST , The Times Listen 0:00 / · 5:53 min Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save Specialist technical universities should be opened in the north of England to combat the number of young people not in education, employment or training (Neets), a think tank has said. Young northerners in industrial towns such as Hartlepool and Grimsby are falling into worklessness because they live in “university deserts” despite living in areas with an abundance of skilled factory and manufacturing jobs, a report by Policy Exchange has found. Most commented 1 Russian strikes 'leave half a million Ukrainian homes without power' Russia-Ukraine war 388 comments 2 'We're 34 — we can't wait to start being landlords' Property & Home 78 comments 3 The beauty expert's all-time favourite hair products Beauty 19 comments It is calling on the government to provide ￡50m in seed funding for a network of employer-led technical universities. The proposals are based on the blueprint of the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE), which opened in Hereford in 2021. Daily Briefing newsletter Get our top stories and exclusive analysis sent straight to your inbox every morning. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Daily Briefing newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Daily Briefing newsletter Explore our newsletters The think tank mapped 57 towns of 60,000 people or more with no university and found the strongest cases for new degree-level institutions were Hartlepool, Grimsby, Barnsley, Blackpool, Burnley, Scunthorpe, Runcorn, Widnes, Blackburn and Doncaster. Top stories 1 Clodagh McKenna: I always get up at 6am on holiday. I love the calm Inspiration 2 16 of the best safaris in Africa Africa 3 13 of the best affordable hotels in New York New York City “Places like Scunthorpe and Grimsby have a more technically focused economy but [lack] the institution to be able to directly serve them,” Byron Evans, co-author of the report, said. “We're paying a higher price because we don't have enough people trained in these sectors and yet you don't even have universities in these local areas to be able to provide these people directly from the local populace.” Advertisement Evans says it is fuelling the Neet crisis because working-class students “either can't afford” to move away for university or lack academic qualifications. GETTY IMAGES The Sutton Trust, an education charity, found that working-class ­students were more than three times as likely to live at home with their parents during university. It has been worsened by the freeze on tuition fees and maintenance loans, Evans added. Top stories 1 The ten companies fund managers think will make them billions Saving & Investing 2 'Mum is dating a fraudster. What can I do?' Family Finances 3 Prepare now for the inheritance tax mess coming for your pension Tax With technical universities, companies such as Google could be training future employees in Grimsby, a town that loses more than 35 per cent of its graduates by the age of 27. Business newsletter The business editor's exclusive analysis of all the latest financial and economic news. Sign up with one click You've successfully signed up to the Business newsletter Explore our newsletters An error occurred. Please use the link below. Business newsletter Explore our newsletters In towns such as Scunthorpe and Burnley the share of people working in manufacturing is roughly double the national average, at up to 17 per cent, yet fewer than 29 per cent of adults hold qualifications beyond A-level, leaving industrial firms starved of technicians. Nationwide, employers reported that more than 250,000 vacancies remained empty because applicants lacked the required skills, qualifications, or experience. Advertisement The proposals have been backed by Lord Blunkett and Sir James Dyson, who argued that the UK cannot compete with worldwide engineering advancements as only about one in eleven British graduates studied engineering or related subjects. Sir James Dyson Alamy Blunkett said: “Differential access to skills is one of the key drivers of regional inequality across Britain. The post-16 journey is vital for the needs of both SMEs and the large infrastructure programmes, which will be the driving force of substantial economic growth.” Andy Burnham has pledged to provide a “clear guarantee” of support to address the one million 16 to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training . The prime minister said that Britain was facing an “economic catastrophe and moral failure” because a generation of young people was being written off to a life on benefits, calling for guaranteed technical pathways, work placements, and apprenticeships. Evans argued that technical universities could ease the burden of the “wild west” apprenticeship levy, which can cost a firm up to ￡30,000 to take someone on. Policy Exchange said that NMITE, by emulating a nine-to-five working week across a two-year degree, cut graduate debt by ￡12,060 and saved students a year of maintenance loan borrowing. The curriculum was co-designed with 80 businesses including BAE Systems, Balfour Beatty and Microsoft, and 15 of its first 34 graduates were hired directly by partner firms. Advertisement Jesse Norman: Hereford shows the way in how to help our Neets NMITE also scrapped requirements for A-level maths or physics, assessing candidates instead on practical aptitude. About 60 per cent enrolled without Level 3 maths, yet internal tests found no significant difference in final grades. Evans pointed to NMITE's partnership with the British Army on drone robotics, noting that “they can produce a course for the British Army for drone engineering within a year. I don't think there's many universities that would be able to do that.” Business Companies & Markets Universities Share Share this article Email Twitter Facebook Link Save