Pupils could miss out on relevant career courses after their GCSEs if an education restructuring after 16 years goes ahead as planned, a report warns.
The Education Committee’s report urges the government to halt plans to end funding for courses like BTecs before new T-Levels are ready to replace them.
The plans could also worsen skills shortages in key industries, MPs said.
The Department of Education said it welcomed the report and would take its recommendations into account.
The Government is currently planning to withdraw older VET courses – collectively known as Applied General Qualifications (AGQs) – when introducing T-Levels and to prioritize those that ‘overlap’ with the new qualifications.
T-Levels are two-year courses offered in England, roughly equivalent to three A-Levels but focusing on practical subjects such as:
- construction
- Agriculture
- Business
- social care
They combine classroom instruction and hands-on experience, with each course including a nine-week internship.
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New T-Levels have been introduced every academic year since their inception in 2020. But in March the government said it was having to delay the rollout of four new programs slated for this year as more work was needed to ensure they were “delivered at a high level”.
The Education Committee, a cross-party group of MPs, warns that if AGQs are withdrawn too early, students could be left without career options.
The report also raises concerns about T-level placement.
The government’s own research suggests that nearly two-thirds of employers were not interested in offering T-level internships, and that interest fell between 2019 and 2021.
Rachel Appiah-Kubi, in her final year of her T-level digital production, design and development, says some of her friends have had trouble finding internships. And her own first job at a digital marketing company was not suited to the experience she was hoping for.
“It was just a bad experience overall because the employer wasn’t very interactive with us,” she says. “And it wasn’t very interesting — it was mostly about making content for TikTok and stuff, which didn’t really interest me.”
But Ms. Appiah-Kubi hopes her more recent internship — coding for the public service — will land her an apprenticeship position once she completes her course.
Robin Walker, chairman of the committee, welcomed the government’s push to “declutter” education after 16 and improve the status of technical qualifications, but said more evidence was needed to prove T-levels adequately replace AGQs could.
“We have concerns about the feasibility of increasing T levels,” he said. “And by the looks of it, the planned withdrawal of AGQs will limit student choice and could deepen the skills shortages these reforms are designed to address, including in vital sectors like social care — effectively eroding the continuing education system. “
The committee’s far-reaching report also raises a number of other concerns about T levels, including:
- “low” awareness of the courses among employers, students and parents
- regional differences in T-level consciousness – with large differences between London and the northern areas
- Accessibility for students with special educational needs and disabilities or with low academic achievement
- the ability to expand and improve courses in relation to future demand
- the status of T-levels as a university degree, with many courses being highly specialized.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said: “Our 16-year qualifications system offers young people from all backgrounds a career ladder, so that any qualification leads to a rewarding career, either through higher education or skilled work.
“We welcome the Committee’s recognition of the importance of our reforms. We will review the recommendations and act on them in due course.”
Elsewhere in the report, MEPs point to a “perverse” trend for apprenticeships to be given to older, more qualified adults, as opposed to young people seeking industry experience.
They also point to flaws in the Prime Minister’s plans for all pupils in England to learn some form of mathematics by the age of 18, noting that every year for the past 11 years the Department of Education has set targets for recruitment qualified mathematics teacher missed.
The report also calls for the introduction of alternative math qualifications to the Baccalaureate and says the government must address challenges in recruiting and retaining math teachers.
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