Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) colleges and (b) other stakeholders on the potential impact of the proposed withdrawal of funding from Level 3 BTEC courses for which there would be no replacement qualification.

Qualifications reform will ensure that A levels and T Levels are at the heart of most young people’s study programmes, as these qualifications offer the best progression for students. The department will also fund other qualifications where they are necessary, high-quality and lead to good progression. This includes alternative academic qualifications, such as BTECs, which could be studied alongside A levels to support entry to public sector occupations, such as the police. The new system will also support technical occupational entry qualifications where these cover Institution for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) occupational standards not covered by T Levels, such as in travel and tourism and public services.

Unlike current alternatives to A levels such as BTECs, T Levels, and other new technical qualifications at level 3 will be designed in line with IFATE occupational standards. The standards can be found here: https://occupational-maps.instituteforapprenticeships.org/.

These standards have been designed by employers to ensure that young people have the knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers need in the workplace. Alongside the highly successful apprenticeships programme and the increasing availability of T Levels, this represents a transformation of technical education to ensure that it meets the needs of employers in the future and provides excellent outcomes for young people.

There are no T Levels specifically in travel and tourism or public/protective services. However, there are several occupational standards at level 3 on which reformed travel and tourism qualifications could be based, and the department fully anticipates awarding organisations to be adapting existing qualifications and basing them on these standards. We anticipate that current large qualifications in travel and tourism will be reformed to align with the relevant occupational standards so that they can be approved as technical qualifications going forward.

The department regularly meets with colleges, stakeholders and employers to discuss the development of this new technical education landscape. We have also provided extensive support to colleges to facilitate the transition to T Levels, such as online guidance materials, workshops, and webinars for employers to attend, as well as offering direct, hands-on support.

The newly updated provider support package supports providers in delivering T Levels, but from September 2023 will also aid providers in developing effective employer engagement strategies to aid them to source industry placements and engage with employers at scale.

Earlier this year, the department launched a £12 million one-year employer support fund that will provide financial assistance to employers offering placements in the 2023/24 financial year, to help with costs such as administration, support with training staff who will supervise learners or tangible costs such as personal protective equipment or vaccinations.

We have also launched the T Levels and Industry Placement Support for Employers website, which can be found here: https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb. The website offers guidance, case studies and more information about T Levels, specifically for employers. Following this, in November 2022, we launched the ‘Connect with employers interested in T Levels’ service, which enables providers to find employers who have expressed an interested in T Levels and industry placements. This service can be found here: https://connect.tlevels.gov.uk/start.

The department regularly discusses qualification reform with stakeholders and listen to their concerns.