Scotland's schools will offer a greater range of vocational courses, under a shake-up of the education system planned by Jack McConnell.

The first minister has pledged to remove the "strait-jacket of limited choice" from schools north of the border, in an attempt to tackle a shortage of skilled workers such as plumbers and electricians.

Details of the proposed reforms were announced at a national education conference in Glasgow.

"There is no room in Scotland for ordinary comprehensives," he said.

"There is no such thing as an ordinary child - only extraordinary ones. Scotland needs a decisive shift away from a strait-jacket of limited choice for young teenagers.

"We must not force another generation of young people into a uniformity of academic choices, where those with a certain type of academic ability made it and those who didn't saw their options fall away."

Speaking ahead of his address, McConnell argued that under the plans students will not be "forced" into taking an academic route, instead being offered vocational courses at further education colleges.

"This will have immediate benefits," he said. "It will expose more young people in their early teens to work experience.

"It will inspire boys in particular of the opportunities that exist in the world of work, just at a time when their interest can wane within school."

"This is a win-win situation for all," he added. "Scotland has a shortage of trades and technical workers, and a cohort of teenagers who don't want to take the academic route.

"This will deliver the quality training and skills that are needed within the modern economy and it will provide a meaningful choice for the younger people who will benefit."