A future Labour government would bring forward an education bill in its first 100 days that would contain reforms to vocational education, apprenticeships and training, shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has said.

Speaking at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ conference in Liverpool today, Mr Hunt said the bill would be produced jointly by the Department for Education and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

He said that under a Labour government, the two departments would work more closely together, because he wanted to end what he described as an “isolated vision of the DfE.” 

Mr Hunt did not give details of the measures that would be in the bill, but said it would be one of the party’s first priorities in government.

He has previously said the party would guarantee an apprenticeship for every school leaver with the “right grades”.

Speaking to his party’s conference in September, he pledged to create “a vocational education system to rival Germany’s.”

He said Labour would make sure FE colleges “focused on training for local jobs”. It would support “proper apprenticeships lasting two years” and a “technical baccalaureate, with respected qualifications”. The party also wanted to improve “technical degrees” that would allow young people to “earn and learn,” he told the party conference.  

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