T-Levels: Wave 4

Tuesday 30th January 2024 Written Statements

[The Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education (Robert Halfon)]

As part of our delivery of wave 4 T-levels and our assessment of overlap between T-levels and technical qualifications we have been consulting with employers and representatives from many sectors.

After discussions with representatives of the hair and beauty sector, we have decided to separate our plans for a combined T-level in hair and beauty. The beauty sector has fed back that a good-quality level 3 classroom-based progression route is desirable. Therefore, this Government will explore introducing a T-level which focuses on the beauty sector, with the expectation that this could be introduced after 2025.

This differs from feedback we have had from representatives in the hair sector which has led us to conclude that the best route is for learners to progress into their industry through completion of an existing level 2 or level 3 apprenticeship or a level 2 classroom-based qualification. As such, we will no longer be introducing a combined T-level.

To support apprenticeships in the hair sector, we have increased funding for apprenticeships in these industries with funding uplifts of 57% for the level 2 hairdressing professional standard and 28% for the level 2 barbering apprenticeship.

T-levels remain our flagship technical qualification for 16 to 19-year-olds, with tens of thousands of students studying or having studied T-levels, and they will form the backbone of the advanced British standard. The Secretary of State made a statement on 9 March 2023 (HCWS619) on the future T-level roll out. I am pleased to announce that we are on track to deliver the T-levels in media, broadcast and production and craft and design for September 2024, alongside the animal care and management T-level, as well as the marketing T-level from September 2025. This will bring our portfolio of T-levels to 21 from September 2024, and 22 from September 2025.

With today’s announcement we are also publishing the provisional list of 71 technical qualifications that have been assessed to overlap with wave 4 T-levels rolled out in or before 2024, which can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/wave-4-t-levels-overlapping-qualifications. These are agriculture, land management and production; animal care and management; craft and design; legal services; and media, broadcast and production. Subject to the outcomes of an appeal process which gives awarding organisations the opportunity to contest a qualification’s placement on the list, we will withdraw 16 to 19 public funding for new starts on these qualifications from 1 August 2025. 16 to 19-year-olds enrolled on these 71 qualifications accounted for around 1% of all total enrolments for 16 to 19-year-olds. Eleven of the qualifications had no enrolments and a further 23 had fewer than 100 enrolments in the 2021-22 academic year, highlighting the need to streamline the qualifications system. Removing funding from technical qualifications which overlap with T-levels will ensure young people can feel confident that they are studying technical qualifications which will prepare them for jobs in their chosen occupation.

This is the final part of phase 2 of our reforms removing qualifications that overlap with waves 1 to 4 T-levels.

[HCWS221]