What are T levels and when are they starting?

Theresa May says new vocational
qualifications will allow the UK to compete globally

In Depth

The qualifications are intended as a vocational alternative to A
levels in England and will cover subjects including construction,
education, childcare and engineering and manufacturing.

“Everyone should be able to have access to an education that
suits them, but we know that for those that don’t choose to go to
university, the routes into further technical and vocational
training can be hard to navigate,” the prime minister said.

“T levels provide a high-quality, technical alternative to A
levels, ensuring thousands of people across the country have the
skills we need to compete globally – a vital part of our modern
industrial strategy.”

But Professor Alan Smithers, director of the Centre for
Education and Employment Research at the University of Buckingham,
warned parents against encouraging their children to take the new
courses, due to be taught from September 2020.

“It must be absolutely clear they will be of value to employers
before kids risk their futures,” he told The Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, said
the Government was attempting to hide its “failure to properly
prepare” for T levels.

“World-class technical education cannot simply be delivered by
press release, while avoiding the impact of years of cuts on the
sector,” she said.

What are T levels?

First announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond in the 2017 Budget,
the 22 planned courses will feature more teaching hours than most
current technical programmes and will include a compulsory work
placement of between 40 and 60 days.

 Responding to the Government’s T Level consultation,
published yesterday, Education Secretary Damian Hinds
said that the courses would equip youngsters with the skills needed
for “the jobs of tomorrow”.

What industry areas do they cover?

Technical routes will be developed in 15 sector areas:

Agriculture, environmental and animal care
Business and administrative
Catering and hospitality
Childcare and education
Construction
Creative and design
Digital
Engineering and manufacturing
Hair and beauty
Health and science
Legal, finance and accounting
Protective services
Sales, marketing and procurement
Social care
Transport and logistics

According to Schools Week’s Gemma Gathercole, although there are 15
sectors, there will be more qualifications than that as “some of
them are broad and cover a range of occupational areas, so it
wouldn’t be possible to develop a single qualification that would
cover the whole areas”.

Will they be ready in time for 2020?

The BBC reports that Jonathan Slater, a senior civil
servant at the Department for Education, formally registered
concerns about the programme earlier this month, saying it would be
“challenging” to ensure that the first three T levels are ready to
be taught from 2020 to a “consistently high standard”.

In a letter to the education secretary, Slater said that he had
a duty to consider the “regularity, propriety, value for money and
feasibility” of public spending and that “if these were the only
considerations, you are aware that I would advise deferring the
start date to 2021”.

Hinds has dismissed the claims, saying: “Naming the first 52
colleges and providers where young people will be able to study the
first T levels is an important step forward.”

But The Times says that “only one in six
employers has a good understanding of T levels”.

The newspaper reports that business owners, who “will be
essential to the success of the new regime”, say that they are not
prepared for its launch.

A survey of 81 firms by the Association of Employment and
Learning Providers and the City and Guilds Group, a skills
development organisation, found that more than half rated
their understanding of T levels as middling or poor.