The education secretary has said T levels are "very, very well on track".
Speaking in House of Commons education questions, shadow FE minister Gordon Marsden said he had raised “substantial concerns” about the progress on the flagship new technical qualifications in June, and now three reports over the summer – including one from the Department for Education – had shown further concerns over the government’s handling of the T level process.
Mr Marsden told MPs a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) had shown 60 per cent of employers had not heard of them, while a Chartered Management Institute (CMI) survey showed two-thirds of parents were also not aware of T levels. “The T level process is in a mess, like [the government's] apprenticeship targets. It needs more government money, more information, more resources and more capacity,” he added.
Last week, a report commissioned by the Department of Education said employers expected learning providers to act as matchmakers between students and appropriate industry placements for the new T levels.
In July, apprenticeships and skills minister Anne Milton told the Commons Education Select Committee that she would advise her children to "leave it a year" before starting a new qualification like T levels. In May, education secretary Damian Hinds rejected a one-year delay to the implementation of T levels proposed by the DfE's permanent secretary. He said he was "convinced of the case to press ahead" with the original plans, which means the first T level subjects will start being taught in September 2020.
'More focus, resource and capacity'
In response to Mr Marsden today, Mr Hinds said: “I am pleased to take his advice to devote more focus, more resource and more capacity to T levels because that is precisely what we are doing. The programme is very, very well on track and so far from what [Mr Marsden] has just described, this is a programme which has the support of business, has the support of colleges that we are bringing in at the very early stages."
The education secretary went on to say that T levels would only be available for "students starting their GCSE courses this year", and "for a relatively small number of people in a relatively small number of colleges". "But then we will see the programme grow from there.”
In the same session in the House of Commons, the education secretary said the government was working closely with the providers chosen for the T level pilots. Mr Hinds also said around £60 million would be made available in 2018-19 for T level work placements. “Businesses must be at the heart of this, and they are,” he added.
Earlier today, the Department for Education unveiled nine new panels which will work towards the T levels that are due to start in 2022, with a total of 78 experts from across industry chosen who will help develop the new qualifications.
