Bridget Phillipson announces pause and review of Level 3’s – Sector Reaction

Today (24th July 2024), Education Secretary, Bridgette Phillipson said: “I am pleased to announce that the department will undertake a short pause and review of post 16 qualification reform at level 3 and below, concluding before the end of the year. This means that the defunding scheduled for next week will be paused.”

Sector Reaction to the Pause and Review of Post 16 Qualifications announcement

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: 

“I am very pleased that the new Education Secretary has shown that she is listening and carefully examining the evidence in this and other announcements since the election. That bodes well for all of the reforms that the new government has committed to, with a more open, evidence-based, engaging approach to designing a more coherent tertiary education system which works for all people at all stages of their work and lives.

“This was an important decision needing urgent attention in the best interests of students and the colleges wanting to meet their needs. Our position was always that T Levels are here to stay and will increasingly become vital qualifications alongside others, but the implementation plans had gone awry. So it is great to hear the clear and unambiguous support for the future of T Levels as well.

“Pausing defunding and undertaking a rapid review of the implementation is exactly what we asked for and this announcement will come as a great relief to college staff up and down the country. It means that students wanting to attain qualifications in, for instance, social care and electrical will be able to do that and help meet the enormous skills shortages in those two sectors, and there are other subjects like that which will need to be carefully examined in the coming weeks.

“Alongside the rapid review there is good work which needs to continue in the Department of Education on reviewing the content and assessment of T Levels and how to scale up the availability of placements to ensure their success for students and for progression into jobs and further learning.”

Robert West, Head of Education & Skills, CBI said: 

“While there are signs that the pressures in the labour market are starting to cool, firms are still struggling to find the staff to power their ambitions – putting a dampener on investment and growth when we need them most. With a rising number of young people not in employment, education or training, it is right that politicians bring such an important issue to the floor of the House.   

“It is critical that Government now partner with further education, independent training providers and businesses to understand how young people can be supported into work and to stay in the labour market. This will help address labour shortages holding back growth and deliver the skilled workforce we need to boost productivity.  

“As a first step, the Government should pause current Level 3 qualifications reform and commit to a review, with a view to maintaining courses with a strong track record of helping learners progress their careers. This will help protect quality courses and drive forward the Government’s National Youth Guarantee, positively transforming the lives of young people and businesses across the economy.” 

Simon Ashworth, AELP Deputy CEO and Director of Policy, said:

“We welcome the decision to pause and then review plans to defund qualifications at Level 3 and below, collectively called for by AELP and the other main sector representatives bodies. There is a degree of urgency over this – concluding this review by the end of the year is ambitious but necessary so that learners and providers understand where they stand. The proposals to remove the majority of Applied General and BTEC qualifications to ‘clear the decks’ for T Levels was completely arbitrary, would reduce learner choice, leave large gaps in provision and significantly impact the most disadvantaged learners.”

Pepe Di’Iasio, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders said:

“It is hugely welcome that the new government has listened to the concerns of the profession and announced this pause and review. Applied general qualifications, such as BTECs, are a really important qualification for so many young people, and help them progress to further study or employment. “However, while the confirmation that the review will be concluded by the end of the year is very encouraging, there is not yet detail on how long the pause will be in place. School and college leaders, and their students, need certainty about the courses that can be run for the next two years. We therefore urge the government to extend the pause until 2027 for all of the current applied general qualifications.”

NUS UK Vice President, Qasim Hussain, said: 

“We are so pleased to that the government has decided to pause and review the plan to scrap BTECs. 

“Reforming vocational qualifications shouldn’t mean reducing choices. The development of T-levels does not necessitate the scrapping of BTECs; they fulfil the various learning needs of different students. 

“Students who choose vocational education should have the same amount of choice as students who choose academic education. For this reason, we believe BTECs are an important part of our further education landscape. 

“We’re looking forward to working with our members in further education to shape the review and protect student choice” 

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said:

“We are delighted Labour has heeded our call to keep BTECs, putting on hold Tory plans to close off this key route into higher education for working-class students. This decision means students will not have their post-16 options needlessly restricted. BTECs are especially important for widening participation, as Black and Asian students are more likely to use them to get to university. Educators will now be able to contribute fully to the review, which we hope will recommend that colleges keep their existing BTEC provision and build upon it, rather than scrapping these crucial qualifications.”