Andy Burnham has ordered schools to put a new focus on technical education as he ditches New Labour's push to send half of youngsters to university.In a break with Tony Blair, the new Prime Minister will say on Tuesday that society should 'value the hard hat as much as the graduation cap'.He will tell schools to adapt their curriculum to meet the needs of local employers.From the age of 14, pupils will be offered the chance to focus on technical education alongside 'core' subjects like maths and English, instead of pursuing a more academic route. This could include work placements with local employers during the school day.Ofsted inspectors will also be told to change the way they rate schools to put more emphasis on preparing young people for the world of work.Mr Burnham will argue that the shift in emphasis could help tackle soaring youth unemployment, which has left more than one million young people not in employment, education or training.It represents a significant break with New Labour, which imposed a controversial target to send 50 per cent of young people to university. The target was effectively ditched by the last Conservative government.But Mr Burnham, who studied English at Cambridge University, will suggest it was a mistake which has 'let down' many non-academic youngsters and fuelled Britain's skills shortage. Andy Burnham will warn that a focus on university education has 'let down' millionsThe PM will tell youngsters: 'Whether you choose construction, coding or classics, you'll get the skills you need and be given the respect you deserve.'Mr Burnham will pitch the plan as part of a 'major shake-up' to fix the 'youth unemployment crisis'. He will argue that it could one day help reduce the benefits bill.In the short term, he risked a fight with Labour MPs after warning that Britain 'must get really serious' about curbing welfare.The Prime Minister suggested his plans for reform could make payments more 'conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them'.But he pushed back against pursuing a 'crude approach' to bringing down spending, as he warned about 'crude cuts to benefits to get the welfare bill down'.The number of people in England and Wales claiming Personal Independence Payment (PIP), the main disability benefit, has passed four million for the first time.The number of claimants has roughly doubled since 2019, with spending on PIP forecast to rise to more than £41billion by the end of the decade.PIP is intended to help with everyday tasks and extra living costs if someone has a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability. It has been revealed that teenagers claiming PIP for conditions such as anxiety receive £100 a week more than part-time workers on a minimum wage.Keir Starmer's efforts to tighten rules for claiming PIP were derailed last year by a huge rebellion from his own Labour backbenchers. But Mr Burnham, now that he has ousted Sir Keir from Downing Street, suggested he is ready to make a renewed case for benefits changes to his party.He is also expected to this week make an intervention on the one million young people not in education, employment or training – so-called NEETs.'I think we've got to get really serious as a country at getting the welfare bill down,' the PM said in an interview with the BBC.Asked if there were people claiming benefits who don't need them, Mr Burnham replied: 'I wouldn't necessarily go straight to blaming those people.'What I would say is that there are people in the benefit system, young people in their 20s, who have been, I would say, quite seriously let down because the support wasn't there for them when it should have been there.'So I'm talking about a school system that doesn't have the right support for young people with special educational needs or disabilities.'I'm talking about an education system that for a very long time has been obsessed on the university route but hasn't done enough... for young people who want technical qualifications and in many ways has treated them as second class students, hasn't done enough for young people at 16 who want to get an apprenticeship, a work-related opportunity.'Pressed on how he might attempt to cut the ballooning welfare bill, the PM added: 'It's about changing the nature of the support and making some of the support conditional upon people taking opportunities that are presented in front of them.'I think it's a good thing that the Government has given guarantees of opportunities for young people, and I think we need to continue down that approach, and where mental health support is needed, for instance, it's provided in work to support people in an opportunity.'Mr Burnham also claimed that his promise of a council house building boom would, over time, help cut the welfare bill as it would reduce spending on housing benefits.