Special event prepares way for third wave of #TLevels

Organisations interested in delivering the third wave of T Levels from 2022 attended a special market engagement event this week.

The conference suite at the Wesley Euston Hotel, in London, was packed on Monday (14 October) with representatives from leading awarding organisations and other interested parties including The London Institute of Banking and Finance.

Speakers from across the Institute, Ofqual, and the Department for Education provided updates on how preparations for T Levels – which are set to become the prestigious technical education equivalent of academic A Levels – are progressing.

There was also an opportunity at the end for the awarding organisations to take part in one-to-one question and answer sessions.

Kiranjit Dhillon, Head of Procurement for T Levels at the Institute, said:

“It was really exciting to see so many people showing an interest in how we are going to deliver Wave 3 of T Levels. Preparations for what will be truly game-changing qualifications for the world of technical education are going really well and we want to ensure that stakeholders are kept fully informed every step of the way. We would now like to urge as many stakeholders as possible to participate in our Market Engagement Surveyt Survey.”

Training Providers’ views urgently needed on #TLevels: The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute) would welcome views from providers on draft outline content for two T Levels in Business and Admin (Management &… https://t.co/EL7yY4vuYO pic.twitter.com/efTGLwOMOT

— FE News (@FENews) October 11, 2019

T Levels will be the technical equivalent to A Levels, combining classroom theory, practical learning and an industry placement. 

To protect the prestigious status of T Levels and ensure they are a valued qualification recognisable by employers, one awarding body will have exclusive rights to deliver each T Level subject. This was a key recommendation made by Lord Sainsbury in his independent review of technical education in 2016.

NCFE and City & Guilds were chosen earlier this month to deliver and award 7 T Levels, through Wave 2 of the programme, from 2021.

Contracts to deliver and award the first 3 T Levels were awarded to NCFE and Pearson in February.

Chris Morgan, Deputy Director at the Institute for Technical Education, Commercial, said:

“We have successfully awarded contracts for the delivery of the first two waves of T Levels and this was a great opportunity to liaise with and advise the sector on further opportunities. It was fantastic to see the event well attended. Our staff were happy to answer as many questions as possible.”

The first wave of three T Levels to be delivered in September 2020 are:

• Education (Education & Childcare route)
• Design, Surveying and Planning (Construction route)
• Digital Production, Design and Development (Digital route)

A second wave of seven courses will roll out in September 2021:

• Digital Support and Services T Level (Digital route)
• Digital Business Services T Level (Digital route)
• Onsite Construction T Level (Construction route)
• Building Services Engineering T Level (Construction route)
• Health T Level (Health and Science route)
• Healthcare Science T Level (Health and Science route)
• Science T Level (Health and Science route)

The third wave to roll out from September 2022 are:

• Legal T Level (Legal, Finance and Accounting route)
• Financial T Level (Legal, Finance and Accounting route)
• Accountancy T Level (Legal, Finance and Accounting route)
• Design, Development and Control T Level (Engineering and Manufacturing route)
• Maintenance Installation and Repair T Level (Engineering and Manufacturing route)
• Manufacturing and Process T Level (Engineering and Manufacturing route)
• Management and Administration T Level (Business and Administration route)
• Human Resources T Level (Business and Administration route)

Those planned for roll-out from 2023 include:

• Hair, Beauty and Aesthetics T Level (Hair & Beauty route)
• Craft and Design T Level (Creative and Design route)
• Media Broadcast and Production (Creative and Design route)
• Cultural Heritage and Visitor Attractions (Creative and Design route)
• Catering T Level (Catering and Hospitality route)
• Animal Care and Management T Level (Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care route)
• Agriculture, Land Management and Production (Agriculture, Environmental and Animal Care route)