UP FRON T / T-LE V ELS
From A to T Barnaby Lenon on the introduction of T-levels BARNABY LENON
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ince the late 19th century, England has been struggling with vocational education. It became clear that countries like Germany, France and Japan were eating away at the industrial lead England had established between 1750 and 1850, and this was partly because of their superior training. England has faced several barriers to successful vocational training: snobbery about nonuniversity courses, an inability to decide whether the Government or employers should be taking the lead, a proliferation of huge numbers of vocational courses which are unknown to the general public, and changes in government policy so frequent that vocational courses never took root. In order to try and improve the situation, the current Government is introducing a set of new technical courses called T-levels. Many competing vocational courses will be swept away in order to simplify the system. The T-levels will be high-quality and should be a viable alternative to A-levels for those students who know the career path they would like to pursue.
"A challenge for the Government will be persuading students and parents that a vocational education is of the same value and esteem as an academic education"
2023 across the 11 main areas. The 11 T-level subjects are broad so they will each be broken down into separate ‘occupational specialisms’, each of which can be a T-level. In other words, there will be many more than 11 T-levels – probably 40-60. For example, the ‘digital’ route could be broken down into three: IT support and services, software and applications and data and digital business services. Each T-level will have several elements: A common core of useful knowledge, skills and behaviours that may be examined on paper ABOVE Barnaby Lenon, A specific vocational course Chairman, (called a Technical Qualification), Independent Schools Council which assesses someone’s ability to do things – called ‘competences’ Employability skills such as T-levels are being planned for the computer literacy, reliability and following areas: attitude A 45-to-60-day work placement Agriculture, environmental and Maths, English and digital requirements animal care Any other occupation-specific Business and administrative requirements/qualifications Catering and hospitality Childcare and education There are a number of reasons why the Construction new T-levels might fail. In England, what Creative and design universities and further education colleges Digital offer is demand-led. What individual Engineering and manufacturing students want determines which courses Hair and beauty are offered. So courses can be offered, Health and science but they fail if demand is not there. Many Legal, finance and accounting 16-year-olds may not be willing to opt for one particular career (a T-level pathway) These two-year T-levels will be offered to at that age, preferring to keep their options students aged 16+ and phased in after 2020. open by taking A-levels or applied generals. Three T-levels in Construction, Digital Skills Another challenge for the Government will and Childcare will be delivered by a small be persuading students and parents that a number of providers from September 2020. vocational education is of the same value A further seven T-levels will be available and esteem as an academic education. from September 2021, with the remainder However, we should support the T-level rolled out from September 2022 onwards. reform. We need to improve our vocational The Government’s current aim is for all provisions and this qualification is very T-levels to be introduced by September well-conceived. AUTUMN • WINTER 2019 | A B S O LU T E LY E D U C AT I O N | 29
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