My
involvement in developing T Levels in Education and Childcare as an expert
panel member
I was excited at the prospect of developing
these new technical qualifications. I
believe in greater choice of quality qualifications for young people aimed at
equipping them with relevant knowledge and skills valued by employers. In the UK, unlike in some other countries,
for example, Germany, vocational or technical qualifications have been largely
undervalued and, up till now, have had a variable record of adequately
preparing young people for successful employability. To remain competitive, all economies require
a skilled workforce with the capacity to learn and develop in order to keep up
with the changing demands and technological advancements. It is therefore crucial that young people
have the opportunity to pursue different high quality routes leading to secure
employment. Lord Sainsbury, Chairman of
the Independent Panel on Technical Education concluded:
For too long the only educational opportunity that
many young people have had is to take technical qualifications that fail to
equip them with the knowledge and skills that employers value, and that are
needed to progress to higher technical education.
Having been involved with developing T Levels
in Education and Childcare, I feel that these qualifications will provide a
real opportunity for young people at 16+ to pursue technical education specific
to their chosen career. Whilst there is
academic value in studying for a higher education degree, this is a costly option and many young people study subjects with little relevance to their
future employment. Equally, many jobs do
not require a degree level education, where technical qualifications can offer
a more suitable preparation. In support
of T Levels, Sir Gerry Berragan, Chief Executive, Institute for Apprenticeships
said: T Levels signal a real change in
the qualifications landscape – offering school leavers an alternative to a
purely academic route.
This year, we have seen a slight drop in
university applications, which signals a greater need for diversification of
qualifications at 16+. I feel that the
time is right to introduce new technical qualifications, T Levels, developed by
industry experts and focused on extending theoretical knowledge as well as
job-specific skills and behaviours. T
Levels in Education and Childcare, alongside two other T Levels, will commence
in September 2020. As an expert in
education, I am really happy to see the priority given to developing these
technical qualifications in the areas of education and childcare. To ensure the best start for all children,
highly skilled workforce is essential.
We know that the quality of early years education has an enormous impact
on later educational outcomes. It is
therefore crucial that appropriately qualified staff work with young
children.
I am optimistic about these new technical
qualifications. They have been developed
by industry experts and in consultation with relevant employers. They will give young people more options at
16+ and provide relevant preparation for a specific career or higher education. By comparison with other vocational
qualifications on offer, these new technical qualifications will involve more
classroom-based learning, thus offering a better balance between theory (knowledge
base) and practice. T Levels are modern
technical qualifications. They have been
developed as a gold standard in vocational excellence and, whilst preparing for
employability, offer an alternative route to further education or purely
academic qualifications.
