Yesterday the Government set out a provisional list of Level 3 qualifications that are set to have their funding withdrawn from the 1st of August 2024. This list follows a period of consultation and evaluation after the Department for Education announced their plans to streamline the choices for young people post-16, with an intention of making A Levels, T Levels, and apprenticeship the main routes for education and training for young people after completing their GCSE’s.
The 160 vocational qualifications that will have their funding withdrawn are viewed as overlapping with T Levels. The full list of these qualifications that are at risk of being defunded can be found here.
Included in the 160 vocational qualifications that are set to be defunded are 38 BTECs, which include courses such as Health & Social Care. Health & Social Care has been a hugely popular choice for many young people, who choose to enrol onto Level 3 qualifications.
Back in March 2022 the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Youth Employment (APPG), of which Youth Employment UK are a part of, presented their report from the inquiry into the Impact of Vocational Qualifications on Young People’s Employment and Labour Market Outcomes
This report showed that Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups, those living with Special Education Needs and young people living in coastal areas are more likely to be enrolled in vocational qualifications.
Youth Employment UK supported the government’s plans to slow the pace of the removal of funding and also to soften the language in how many vocational qualifications were to be axed, originally saying that more than half would go.
Cutting funding for vocational qualifications is concerning as the evidence shows they provide more educational choice especially for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Furthermore, these young people from marginalised backgrounds usually do not have the GCSE entry requirements to enrol on to a T Level.
As the APPG for Youth Employment recommended in their report “the Government must map an alternative route for 16–18 year olds who cannot follow a T Level or A Level route,” especially if they are to defund these vocational qualifications. Youth Employment UK will continue to work closely with young people, employers and government and policy colleagues on these issues.
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