College leaders in England sound alarm on T-levels

The heads of more than 100 colleges have warned that plans to shake up vocational training in England risk leaving thousands of school leavers without access to further education when they reach 16 because ministers have failed to put in place a “coherent implementation plan”.

The government aims to complete the roll out of new T-level qualifications, which began in 2020, over the next two academic years for 16 to 18 year olds in subjects like construction, health, science, and business. They will have tougher grade entry requirements than the roughly 160 vocational courses, including BTecs, they are designed to replace.

In a letter to education secretary Gillian Keegan seen by the Financial Times, the leaders of 113 colleges said they supported the principle of a rigorous vocational qualification but were concerned the government was “sleepwalking” into a situation that would exacerbate the country’s shortage of skilled workers.

“The Department for Education has made it clear that T-levels should be the only vocational pathway available, by defunding at least 160 existing qualifications, potentially leaving no alternative for hundreds of thousands of students. We are not against this change. We are against the lack of a well thought out and coherent implementation plan,” the letter warned.

It accused the department of failing to follow “a basic change process, with risks clearly set out and mitigated”. The college heads called for an approach that “would understand the needs of all students and map clear pathways for everyone at a time when the economy needs every single current and future employee”.

The letter urged Keegan to consider retaining the existing qualifications until two years of students had completed the equivalent T-level courses “to greatly reduce the risks.”

Nikos Savvas, the head of West Suffolk College and convener of the letter, said “immense economic damage” would be caused by the transition. Jobs like nursing and policing services could be affected as a BTec in public services is one of those earmarked for the chop, he added.

The intervention is the latest warning to the government that its promise to boost skills could, in practice, make it more difficult for employers to recruit workers with the right training, worsening an already tight labour market.

The letter echoes similar concerns raised in a report by the House of Commons education select committee last month that said “rushing ahead” with the reforms risked leaving people “stranded without suitable qualification pathways and deepening worker shortages”.

The government said: “We are pleased that colleges recognise that T-levels are on track to become the world class, highly respected, high-profile qualifications that all of us want to see.

“Our reforms to qualifications, including the introduction of T-Levels, are all part of our driving mission to make sure more young people gain the skills they need to progress into great jobs. They are now being delivered successfully by over 160 providers and we are pressing ahead with our reforms so that young people have the skills that employers need.”