One of Coca-Cola’s HR business partners has questioned the government’s rationale for choosing the first wave of subjects for T levels.

Speaking at today’s Association of Employment and Learning Providers Autumn Conference in Manchester, Sharon Byfield said the organisation was currently involved with Scottish foundation apprenticeships - a vocational scheme for young people still in school, and therefore similar to the soon-to-be-introduced T levels. Feedback, she said, had been positive, andt Coca-Cola would therefore consider engaging with T levels in England. However, she said that she had concerns about the first routes that had been chosen.

“When I look at T levels and the ones which have been rolled out in the first phases, with the exception of digital, I wonder why those ones were chosen,” Ms Byfield. “The ones that are for wider corporate organisations like ours aren’t going to come in until 2022-23.”

Background: T levels: what subjects can you take?

More on T levels: What grades will be required to study the new T levels?

Opinion: Why BTECs should not be replaced by T levels

T levels: the right subjects?

The first T-level routes - digital, health and childcare and construction - will be rolled out in 50 FE institutions from September 2020. 

Speaking at the same event, the CBI’s head of education and skills, John Cope, said T levels should not be forgotten if the country votes in a Labour government in the next election.  He stressed that there needed to be a cross-party commitment to making the new qualifications work.

“There needs to be that commitment from government to see this through, and we are pushing heavily to get Labour on board. A general election is looking more likely with Labour backing it now, so if there is a general election and if we do have a Labour government, we can’t see T levels just forgotten,” he said.

Mr Cope also warned that T levels could be “dead before they’ve started” unless employers value the new qualifications and find them economic to deliver. He addressed concerns about them being in competition with apprenticeships.

He said: “If employers value apprenticeships more, and apprenticeships are more economic to deliver, T levels will be dead before they even start, and vice-versa.”