Following over a year of media silence, the publication of the T-Level Action Plan provided a welcome insight into progress made and the challenges ahead for implementation of new T-Levels.
One of the most striking revelations in the plan is that 4 routes will be delivered through apprenticeships only:
- Protective Services
- Sales, marketing and procurement
- Social care
- Transport and logistics
We already knew from last year’s Post-16 Skills Plan that these routes would be “primarily delivered through apprenticeships.” It now seems that there will be no T-Level at all for these routes, and learners will be expected to secure apprenticeships at 16 years old.
This appears to be a huge flaw in the emerging policy. The whole idea of T-Levels is to provide learners with the skills and knowledge they will need to successfully enter the workplace or progress into an apprenticeship. Neither the Sainsbury Panel, nor the government, have provided evidence to justify why they believe learners will be ‘apprenticeship ready’ for these routes at 16 years old as opposed to others. There is little to suggest that these routes will require a lower level of workplace or technical skills for entrants into the workplace.
Furthermore, it shows a lack of consideration of other reforms, in particular changes to apprenticeships. The latest Apprenticeship Funding Rules include a flat £1,000 uplift payment for employers taking on an apprentice aged 16-18. This compares very unfavourably with uplifts for young apprentices in the past, and fails to fully recognise the challenges associated with managing a very young apprentice. This is likely to mean a reduction in the availability of apprenticeships for 16-18 year olds, and could mean that young people wishing to enter one of these 4 routes may find it difficult to do so.
Of course, this will be of huge concern to colleges. For many colleges, social care accounts for a large proportion of their provision, and investments made in teaching and provision of all these routes could be rendered redundant. The sudden loss of this provision could have dire financial consequences.
The good news is that this is an emerging policy, and the government have promised a formal consultation before Christmas. Parity between all routes is key to delivering a system that works for employers, providers, and especially learners. NCFE will be clear in our response that it’s vital that T-Levels are developed for all 15 routes. We do hope that colleges will join us in highlighting this as an urgent issue to address.
