Mentions:
1: Luke Hall (Con - Thornbury and Yate) and T-levels at the heart of level 3 study programmes for 16 to 19-year-olds, paving the way for the - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Baroness Garden of Frognal (LD - Life peer) I say to the Government that T-levels are not unique in this respect. - Speech Link
2: Lord Lucas (Con - Excepted Hereditary) T-levels are too massive and too specialised. - Speech Link
3: Baroness Barran (Con - Life peer) T-levels are delivering fantastic results for those 16 to 19 year-olds across the country. - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Margaret Greenwood (Lab - Wirral West) of geographical disparities in adult literacy as one of their levelling-up missions, and to review levels - Speech Link
2: Luke Hall (Con - Thornbury and Yate) Of those that are most relevant to critical technologies, the four with the highest levels of employment - Speech Link
Asked by: Munira Wilson (Liberal Democrat - Twickenham)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of courses per higher education provider that accept T-levels for entry standards.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
T Levels set students up to progress onto a number of routes including employment, further education or higher education (HE). The government was delighted to see that last year, 97% of T Level students who applied for undergraduate study through UCAS received at least one offer. More information can be found here: https://www.ucas.com/corporate/news-and-key-documents/news/79-uk-18-year-old-applicants-receiving-results-gain-place-first-choice-university. Students secured places on a range of courses such as Midwifery, Computer Science and Architecture at a range of institutions.
The department has published a list of over 160 HE providers that have confirmed that they accept T Levels on at least one course. The list can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/higher-education-providers-with-t-levels-in-entry-requirements. This list is not exhaustive or an official register of all HE providers that accept T Levels and is updated as providers confirm that they accept T Levels. Given that HE providers are autonomous institutions that regularly review the entry requirements, the department recommends that students look at the UCAS website and the websites of higher education providers for more information on entry requirements for specific courses.
The department works closely with the HE sector to ensure providers understand the content and quality of T Levels. The department has published a range of resources to support HE providers at the following site: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/t-level-resources-for-universities. The department has also published a range of resources for T Level providers who wish to support their students who are considering progressing into HE, which can be found here:https://support.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/15892783337362-T-Levels-and-Higher-Education-Progression.
May. 30 2024
Source Page: Letter dated 24/05/2024 from Baroness Barran to Lord Willetts regarding the Government’s post-16 qualification reforms, as discussed during the debate on Skills: Importance for the UK Economy and Quality of Life. 4p.Found: running of T Levels and existing technical qualifications .
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve access to artificial intelligence training.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to creating a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality and fit for the future.
The department will continue its work to ensure that the education system is able to adapt to deliver upskilling and to provide the skills that learners need for the workplaces of the future, including jobs that will be impacted by, or require the use of, artificial intelligence (AI).
World class T Levels are boosting access to high-quality technical education for thousands of young people and creating a skilled workforce for the future. 18 T Levels are available in a range of in-demand subject areas, including T Levels in digital subjects, which have been designed by employers and will help to equip students with the skills and knowledge required for great careers in the digital industry.
Employers have designed over 30 high-quality apprenticeships in digital occupations, including Level 7 Artificial Intelligence Data Specialist, which will provide cutting edge skills in AI. Since it was introduced in May 2020, starts in this standard have grown from 100 in the 2020/21 academic year to 350 in the 2022/23 academic year.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) are revising the Level 7 Artificial Intelligence Data Specialist standard this year to ensure it meets employers’ needs. They have also developed Level 5 in Data Engineering and are currently developing Level 6 Machine Learning Engineer. These standards include high levels of content regarding the application and use of AI.
IfATE are also hosting workshops with a range of stakeholders to discuss the impact of AI on skills requirement across the economy and will be updating the Digital Skills and Characteristics Framework with AI-related content when it is revised next year. This will ensure all employers are thinking about the use and impact of AI when developing or revising occupational standards.
Skills Bootcamps are delivering skills training for the digital sector in 2024/25 in each English region. There are also online Skills Bootcamps in AI Marketing and Content Creation and AI and Machine Learning.
Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) provide the skills needed for a range of specialist digital occupations, such as cyber security technologist and software developer. There are 56 digital HTQs currently approved for teaching and a further ten approved for teaching from September 2024. HTQs provide a range of opportunities and pathways to build up the skills needed for AI-related roles.
In higher education, the department is working with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to deliver new postgraduate AI and data science conversion courses to boost skills and diversity in AI jobs. The government is also investing £117 million in doctoral training for AI researchers.
In 2023, the department’s Unit for Future Skills (UFS) developed a Science and Technology Jobs and Skills Dashboard to understand the supply and demand of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics skills to develop critical technologies like AI and quantum. This data will support improved access to relevant training.
The UFS has also undertaken analysis which attempts to quantify the impact of AI on the UK job market. It shows the occupations, sectors and geographic areas expected to be most affected by AI and large language models, as well as the training routes that typically lead to these highly affected jobs.
Digital and computing skills will play an important role for individuals developing and using AI in the future workforce. The department is harnessing government and external expertise through the Digital and Computing Skills Education Taskforce to increase the number of people taking digital and computing qualifications and attract a diverse range of individuals into digital jobs.
Mentions:
1: Seema Malhotra (LAB - Feltham and Heston) and that social capital around our systems are really important.I have spoken to students studying T-levels - Speech Link
2: Damian Hinds (Con - East Hampshire) More recently, there has been the introduction of T-levels. - Speech Link
3: Damian Hinds (Con - East Hampshire) Of course, colleges are not the only places that deliver T-levels, but they are at the centre of that - Speech Link
Mentions:
1: Robert Halfon (Con - Harlow) I am very proud that more than 4,000 students now have T-levels on their CV. - Speech Link
2: Robert Halfon (Con - Harlow) I am very glad that Christ the King Emmanuel sixth form college is offering T-levels, and that the hon - Speech Link
3: Bill Esterson (Lab - Sefton Central) The Prime Minister cast doubt on the future of T-levels in his conference speech, when he said that he - Speech Link
4: Robert Halfon (Con - Harlow) We have 18 T-levels; we have, as I mentioned, a 90.5% pass rate; we have 10,000 students doing our T-level - Speech Link
Asked by: Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that applied general qualifications are still available to students in future.
Answered by Baroness Barran - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)
The aim of the department’s Post-16 Qualifications reform at level 3 and below is to streamline the qualifications landscape, simplify choices for students, and only fund qualifications that are high-quality and lead to good progression outcomes. By ensuring that approved qualifications meet new, more rigorous criteria, young people can be confident that they will be able to progress to university and higher technical education, and directly into apprenticeships and skilled employment. It will place world class A levels and T Levels at the heart of level 3 study programmes for 16 to 19 year olds, and link other technical qualifications directly with occupational standards which have been designed by employers. Students studying these qualifications can be confident that they are gaining the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed for future jobs.
In the new post-16 qualification landscape, students will continue to have a range of options available to them at level 3, in addition to A levels and T Levels, there will be new technical occupational qualifications (TOQs) and Alternative Academic Qualifications (AAQs).
Where occupational standards are not covered by a T Level, the department is allowing TOQs to be developed, where students can continue to study areas currently covered by applied general qualifications (AGQs), such as travel consultant, highways electrician, and personal trainer, to list a few. The key distinction here is that they will be based on employer led occupational standards, unlike current AGQs.
On the academic side, current AGQs will be replaced by AAQs. There will be new small AAQs in a range of strategically important subjects such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and those supporting entry into NHS careers. These qualifications are an important part of how the department will support diverse student needs and deliver skills required by the economy. Small AAQs can be studied alongside A levels as part of mixed academic programme. The department will also fund large AAQs in areas that A levels and T Levels cover less well such as performing arts and sport. AAQs must demonstrate a clear link to related higher education (HE) courses and will be assessed by the department against the new funding approval criteria.
The department knows that students who take A levels have better outcomes overall in terms of progressing into, and staying in, HE than those who study AGQs. This is supported by the evidence, which shows that students progressing to HE with alternatives to A levels, such as AGQs, generally experience worse outcomes than their peers taking A levels, even after controlling for differences in background characteristics. Current AGQs also provide very mixed outcomes for students.
The qualification reforms also include reforming level 2 qualifications to ensure they are high-quality, have clear purposes, and lead to better outcomes, either supporting progression to reformed level 3 study, for example via the T Level Foundation Year, or directly into skilled employment in occupations at level 2 or via apprenticeships. This means that studying a reformed level 2 qualification will lead to better long-term outcomes than studying a poor-quality level 3 qualification.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is taking steps to increase access to electrical appliance repair and reuse skills training.
Answered by Luke Hall - Minister of State (Education)
This government is committed to delivering a world-leading skills system which is employer-focused, high-quality, and fit for the future.
The government is investing £3.8 billion more in further education and skills over this Parliament to ensure people can access high-quality training and education that addresses skills gaps and boosts productivity. The department are working with industry to shape our training offers, creating more routes into skilled employment in key sectors, including green jobs.
The department’s high-quality employer-designed apprenticeships, including the Level 3 Digital Device Repair Technician standard, also continue to support employers and apprentices to develop the skills needed in the green economy.
Employer-led standards have shaped the design of T Levels, which are new level 3 qualifications for 16 to 19 year olds that reflect modern industrial practice and include a 45 day industry placement. Engineering and Manufacturing T Levels in Maintenance, Installation and Repair were introduced in 2022, where students can choose to specialise in electrical and electronics.
The department’s reforms are strengthening higher and further education to help more people get good jobs and upskill and retrain throughout their lives and to improve national productivity.
The department is delivering reforms to increase uptake of high-quality higher technical education. Central to these reforms is the introduction of Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs).
HTQs are new or existing Level 4 and 5 qualifications (such as Higher National Diploma’s, Foundation Degrees and Diploma HE) that have been approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to indicate their alignment to employer-led occupational standards. These qualifications have been developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers and businesses so that students get the specific training, knowledge and skills required for their chosen career.
To date, 172 qualifications have been approved as HTQs across Digital, Construction and the Built Environment, Health & Science, Business and Administration, Education and Early Years, Engineering & Manufacturing and Legal, Finance and Accounting occupational routes, for first teach beginning between September 2022 and September 2024.
There are HTQs approved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) related subjects, including Engineering and Manufacturing and Construction and the Built Environment that will help provide the skills needed for industries.
The department is investing up to £115 million of funding to help support the growth in higher technical provision across the country.