Just 12 per cent of employers have awareness of the new T levels, billed by the government as the new “gold standard” qualifications, research published by Ofqual has shown. 

In Ofqual’s annual Perceptions of Vocational and Technical Qualifications in England survey, more than 60 per cent of employers said they either had “no understanding at all” or “not very good understanding” of the new technical qualifications.

The survey was completed between 22 January and 10 March 2021. 

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The first T levels were introduced in further education providers in September 2020, with students studying either digital, construction or education and childcare. The qualifications have been designed in collaboration with employers.

However, of the 1,391 employers surveyed in Ofqual’s report, less than 5 per cent said they had a “very good understanding” of T levels. 

The qualifications include a crucial 45-day work placement, but concerns have been raised about employer capacity to offer the placements to students. 

A survey by the Institute of Directors, shared exclusively with Tes in April, found just one in 10 businesses said they will be offering placements to students on the government’s new “gold standard” T-level qualifications in 2021. 

Around six in 10 businesses said they are “not likely” to provide a T-level placement this year, while three in 10 said they did not know whether they would or not. 

However, in May, the Department for Education announced that employers would be able to claim £1,000 for every T-level placement they offer. The funding is from a new £10 million pot, and employers can claim £1,000 for every student up to a maximum of 20 placements, between 27 May 2021 and July 2022.

Cath Sezen, senior policy manager for FE at the Association of Colleges, said: “Raising the profile and awareness of T levels as the most recent addition to the choices for further study post-16 is key to ensuring the rollout is a success.

“Greater visibility to employers is needed as more colleges begin to deliver T levels in different subjects and, subsequently, a broader group of students choose to study them. The industry placement is a crucial element to the two-year programme and current providers are working well with employers to develop strong relationships. This will need to happen on an even larger scale to guarantee sufficiency of quality placements.

“With so much emphasis on the need for greater technical education to meet the needs of the future, young people also need to be aware of the full spectrum of options open to them after GCSE, with comprehensive and impartial information, advice and guidance helping students and their parents make informed choices about their next steps.”

Joe Fitzsimons, senior policy advisor at the Institute for Directors, said: “Business leaders recognise the vital importance of supporting young people in gaining industry-specific skills and experience. 

“However SME directors often find it challenging to navigate the broad range of qualifications and understand how they can best support learners. While T levels are still a work in progress for some industries, the government must continue to raise the profile of these qualifications amongst employers and learners alike.”

T levels: how aware are students?

The Ofqual research shows that of the 521 learners surveyed, 35 per cent had “no understanding at all” of T levels.

Around 25 per cent had “very or quite good understanding” of T levels.

A T-level action plan, published by the Department for Education in January, revealed that, as of October 2020, 400 students were enrolled on the digital T level, 250 on the construction T level and 650 on the education T level. 

From September 2021, learners will also be able to take T levels in building services engineering for construction, digital business services, digital support and services, health, healthcare science, onsite construction and science.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “It’s good to see more students are finding out about how a T Level could help them to reach their goals. The new qualifications have been gradually rolled out to make sure they are high-quality from the start, with new providers delivering more subject areas, including healthcare and science, from September.

“To help more employers find out how a T Level student can add value to their business, we’ve launched an employer support package and guide to help them to host industry placements. We’re also offering employers who host industry placements a £1,000 cash boost for each student they take on, to create more opportunities.”