On 26th October 2021, the APPG (All Party Parliamentary Group) for Youth Employment held the first meeting regarding the latest inquiry into ‘The Impact of Vocational Qualifications On Young People’s Employability and Labour Market Outcomes’ which is running from October 2021 to January 2022.
In this session we heard evidence from young people, expert speakers, and employers concerning the impacts the defunding of vocational qualifications will have on employment for young people. Visit the APPG for Youth Employment website to access the full inquiry information, the attendee brief, minutes and a recording of the meeting. You can sign up to the second meeting at the bottom of this article.
What does this APPG inquiry cover?
In July 2021 The Department for Education proposed the streamlining of post-16 qualifications by removing funding for some vocational and technical qualifications, including BTECs. This will leave A Levels, Apprenticeships, and the new T Levels as the main options for young people.
The inquiry seeks to understand how the removal of funding for some vocational qualifications will impact the choices available to young people and what that will mean for their employment prospects and outcomes.
What changes are being made to vocational qualifications?
The government’s removal of funding for some vocational qualifications follows the Department of Education’s plans to overhaul the further education system. Programmes that overlap with the new T Levels and those that are not equipping students with the right skills for the world of work will be removed. The government hopes the two pathways to be available will be less confusing and better suited for young people and employers than the current system where there are duplicate and low-quality programmes that lack job prospects. There will be funding for BTECs where there is a real need for them but this will be a rarity so the majority will be defunded.
The two pathways available will consist of the academic route (centred around A Levels) and the technical route (including Apprenticeships, T Levels and any BTECs that demonstrate quality and purpose of continued funding). The new T Levels are level 3 programmes that are 25% practical and 75% academic with 45-day work placements which will equate to 3 A Levels. The government’s proposed ambitions hope to make sure young people find the right course for them and their aspirations, with good job prospects upon completion.
Why are vocational courses such as BTECs so important?
The session heard evidence from Noni Csogor, Research and Policy Manager at Sixth Form Colleges Association and member of #ProtectStudentChoice campaign, who explained that BTEC qualifications can be taken alongside GCSEs and A Levels and are a more suitable skill specific way of learning for students who want to enter a particular sector such as healthcare, business, and engineering, and even for those who don’t know what career they’d like to focus on yet. These qualifications can also help to ensure low achieving students stay in education, achieve a qualification, and establish a route into higher education.
How will this impact young people?
The approach to change the system by 2025 has been criticised by some for its hastiness and its expected effect on choice and opportunities. Disadvantaged students have the most to lose when it comes to defunding vocational qualifications as SEND (Special Educational Needs Disabilities), deprived or minority students are disproportionately represented on courses that are at risk of losing their funding. The proposed ambitions risk leaving thousands of young people with limited or no routes of progression into work and higher education.
Noni suggested that although T levels are also skill specific courses, they can be less well-suited, potentially too in depth or not sufficiently flexible for student needs. They appear to be more suitable for students with grades 6-9 at GCSE, meaning these qualifications will be out of reach for those with lower grades, who take up the most of BTEC courses. Those who cannot commit to full time study, or those who need a job to support them might struggle with the heavy workload and it will be hard to find a work placement opportunity which is already difficult in the local labour market. The addition of students taking up T levels because there are no BTECs for them will potentially further negatively impact their opportunities.
Although T Levels being skill specific is their strength, it may potentially limit take up because low achieving students cannot get the required entry grades. Students will have the choice to take a Level 3 course that might be too intensive for their abilities and potentially heighten the risk of failure or having to take a Level 2 course which is GCSE level. Charlie Deane, Principal and CEO of Bury College explained that if students nationally are forced to take a Level 2 programme at A Level because their GCSE results will not allow another route, they would then be a year behind in entering the workforce.
There is a call for the proposed ambitions to be paused until the new T Levels are more established. T Levels have only been running for 2 years and the exams haven not yet been taken by anyone. Therefore we currently only have teacher assessed grades, which does not provide empirical evidence to the suitability and success of these new programmes.
Young people need more support than ever due to the additional challenges faced as a result of the pandemic. There will need to be better outreach as the new system may be confusing for some, especially as most young people choosing courses are not ready to make long term technical career choices. Disadvantaged students who have the most to lose will also need the most support going forward.
The DfE has said the employers will help design technical qualifications so that they can deliver the skills that the workforce needs.
What are the Next Steps?
The next meeting of the APPG inquiry will take place on 23rd November 2021.
Register Now
The APPG inquiry remains open for submissions until 5.00pm on 3rd December, find out more here.
After the second meeting of the inquiry, a Minister will be invited to a final meeting in January to give evidence and receive the report of the findings.
About the author: Georgia joined Youth Employment UK on an in-person work experience placement in October 2021 as a content writer.
