The Government has announced that seven new University Technical Colleges (UTCs) are to be set up with the backing of major employers.

The new establishments will bring the total number of UTCs across England to 57 by 2016 — and the number of pupils to more than 35,000. The colleges offer a combination of academic and technical education to 14- to 19-year-olds. There are currently 17 UTCs open, with another 33 approved.

The seven new colleges will be located in Bromley, Leeds, Scarborough, Sheffield, South Durham, Crewe and Solihull. They have the backing of more than 30 employers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley, Unilever, Hitachi, Bosch and Kodak.

Lord Baker, chairman of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, which promotes the technical colleges, said. “UTCs are now an established and growing part of the education system. They have strong, cross-party support and more will be announced before the General Election.

“Developing and nurturing an ambitious and capable future workforce is vital to the success of our economy. UTCs make sense and work for employers, universities and, most importantly, young people.”

Philip Greenish, chief executive of the Royal Academy of Engineering, said: “The UK needs many more people with skills in innovation, creativity and enterprise — skills that are fundamental to engineering and key to the UK’s competitive edge.”