Major new contracts awarded for T Levels

The awarding organisations that will take seven prestigious T Levels to the next level have been unveiled.

T Levels are high-quality two-year courses, for 16- to 19-year-olds, which follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A Levels. They are classroom-based but crucially involve extensive ‘on-the-job’ training through an industry placement lasting around 45 days.

These seven T Levels were among the first wave of the qualifications to be rolled out from 2020 and 2021. The original contracts to deliver these T Levels are coming to an end – so IfATE ran a competitive bidding process for awarding organisations to take them forward.

The contracts have been awarded as follows:

• Digital Production, Design and Development – Pearson – contract value £5.4m
• Digital Support Services – Pearson – contract value £4.32m
• Digital Business Services – Pearson – contract value £3.26m
• Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction – Pearson – contract value £3.69m
• Building Services Engineering for Construction – WJEC – contract value £6.25m
• Onsite Construction – WJEC – contract value £7.64m
• Education and Early Years (formerly Education and Childcare) – NCFE – contract value £9.12m

The learning requirements for all T Levels are set out by employer experts – but this is prepared for teaching and assessment by awarding organisations. The successful bidders for these ‘Generation 2’ contracts will now refresh and further develop the content and assessment methods.

Their contracts will run from August 2024 to 31 July 2033.

Chris Morgan, IfATE’s deputy director for commercial, said:

“I’m delighted to announce the awarding organisations that will now take these T Levels to the next level. They will support outstanding delivery so these fantastic qualifications work better than ever for future generations of learners and businesses across the digital, construction and education and early years sectors.”

He added:

“IfATE is really pleased to welcome WJEC, who bid successfully for two construction T Levels. The involvement of a new T Level awarding organisation for Generation 2 shows the growing importance and influence of the T Level programme, given renewed commitment and impetus under the new government.”

Suzanne Hall, Strategic Lead – Product (Technical and Professional) at Pearson, said:

“We are pleased to have won these four contracts, and for the first time to be running all of the Digital T Levels, with the addition of ‘Digital Support Services’ and ‘Digital Business Services’ to our portfolio. We look forward to using our expertise in developing rigorous and high-quality qualifications and to continue to play our part in developing talent for these important sectors.”

Ian Morgan, WJEC Eduqas Chief Executive said:

“We are honoured to be awarded the contract to deliver these exciting new technical qualifications in Building Services Engineering for Construction, and Onsite Construction. This achievement reflects our strong knowledge base, extensive experience and broad expertise in the development, delivery and awarding of qualifications.

“As a leading qualification provider in England and Wales, this contract reflects our central role within the education landscape. These qualifications will be delivered under our Eduqas brand, and will be supported by a package of support including professional learning opportunities and digital resources.
‘We look forward to working in partnership with EAL to develop and deliver these highly valued qualifications that will enable learners to harness the skills and knowledge to enter the workplace with confidence.”

Philip Le Feuvre, chief operating officer at NCFE commented on the result:

“NCFE is delighted to have been selected by IfATE as its Education and Early Years T Level delivery partner for a further five years. We have been incredibly proud to be the Awarding Organisation delivering the first Early Years and Childcare T Level over the past 5 years. We have seen firsthand the achievement of so many students who have progressed into higher education and the workplace. This T Level helps to equip these students with the skills and knowledge to enter the workplace or higher education and make a difference to tens of thousands of children in their critically important early years. We are keen to build on the success of all those students, and grow and nurture the positive relationships we’ve developed with the providers and employers who have supported them.”