Pearson and NCFE awarded contracts to deliver new T Levels

Contracts to develop, deliver and award the first three T Levels have been awarded by the Department for Education (DfE) and Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

T Levels, the technical equivalent to A Levels, combine classroom theory, practical learning and an industry placement.

NCFE has been awarded a contract to deliver the Education and Childcare T Level, and Pearson has been awarded contracts to deliver T Levels in Design, Surveying and Planning as well Digital Production, Design and Development.

Around 50 further education and post-16 providers will teach these T Level programmes from September 2020.

To protect thestandard of T Levels and ensure they are a valued qualification recognisable by employers, one awarding body will have exclusive rights to deliver each T Level subject. This was a key recommendation made by Lord Sainsbury in his independent review of technical education in 2016.

More than 200 businesses, including Fujitsu, Skanska, and GlaxoSmithKline, have helped design the course content so far. On 31 January, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education assumed responsibility for approving the content and procurement for T Levels and will continue to work with industry and the Awarding Organisations as the T Level roll out continues.

Sir Gerry Berragan, CEO of the Institute, said: "Technical Education offers a real and exciting alternative to A Levels for young people, with T Levels now sitting alongside apprenticeships. We remain committed to the pace of the roll out and look forward to working with these suppliers as they develop the first T Level qualifications."

Welcoming this announcement, Lord Sainsbury, Chair of the Independent Panel on Technical Education, said:

"My panel recommended the single provider model for two reasons. Firstly, greater clarity. There are currently more than 3,000 Level 3 qualifications eligible for public funding for 16 to 18-year-olds, spread across more than 100 different awarding organisations. We cannot expect every employer in the land to know which of these qualifications are any good and actually deliver the knowledge and skills they are looking for in new recruits."