T Levels on way to build gold standard

The Department for Education has launched its competition to find the right organisations to deliver the new T Levels.

The winning bidders will have exclusive rights to deliver first T Levels from 2020, which will provide a gold standard in technical education.

The first three T Levels in Construction, Digital, and Education and Childcare will be delivered from September 2020 and DfE is searching for to develop and deliver these new qualifications. Successful bidders will have exclusive rights to deliver each T Level qualification, to make sure it is high-quality, as recommended by Lord Sainsbury in his independent review of technical education in 2016.

Pupils starting GCSE courses this September will be the first students able to study a T Level when they are rolled out and a new research conducted by Department for Education found that employers welcomed the introduction of the new technical courses. Businesses said that the inclusion of a ‘meaningful and substantial industry placement’ was a particularly positive step to making sure learners are better prepared and motivated for work.

More than 200 employers have worked closely with the DfE to design the initial outline T Level content and have run pilots with over 2,000 young people to trial T Level style work placements.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Anne Milton said: “We will make sure that our changes to technical education enable young people to have the very best choices about how to build their career.

“It is really important that we select the organisations with the right vision, to get the best for the young people taking new T Levels. They will be key to upholding the quality of our reforms and making T Levels a success.

“Since we started developing T Levels we have taken an open and collaborative approach, including sharing the draft procurement documents with the sector to give potential bidders a genuine opportunity to influence how this procurement works.

“We want to continue working closely with them every step of the way so we get this once in a lifetime opportunity right.

CBI Head of Education & Skills John Cope said: “A high-quality, technical equivalent to A Levels is a vital, missing link in our education system that employers welcome, so it’s positive to see real progress on the design and delivery of T Levels.

“The CBI will continue to work with the Government and support the first T Level providers in 2020, including working with employers to get the work placement element delivered effectively given it’s vital to the success of T Levels.”

Dayle Bayliss, Chartered Building Surveyor and Director of Dayle Bayliss Ltd, who chaired the Design, Surveying and Planning T Level Panel, said: “Being involved in the design and shape of the T Level in Construction has been an exciting 12 months. To work with a team of enthusiastic and passionate individuals who are dedicated to reforming and delivering employer led training has been an honour and rewarding opportunity. Seeing the T Level take shape, and a proposal that promotes the opportunities and future of sector really demonstrates the employee led and collaborative approach to these proposals. It is now the opportunity for providers to take forward our vision and turn this into reality.

“For myself, involvement in the Construction T Level has been driven by a desire to shake off some of the myths around the sector and really showcase the variety of opportunities that exist, whilst reforming some of the challenges that exist through the education of next generation of construction professionals. This really is an opportunity to shape the future of our industry and reform, diversify and innovate.”

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