Pipe up: it’s all about training

“New T-levels aim to raise the reputation of non-degree based qualifications attached to technical areas.”

In his budget earlier this month, chancellor Philip Hammond announced the introduction of T-levels as part of a raft of plans to boost vocational training.

T-levels come as part of a £500 million a year investment by 2022, aimed at raising the reputation of non-degree based qualifications attached to technical areas pursued through the further education route.

The scheme will also streamline the 13,000 different non-academic qualifications currently on offer for people aged 16 and over to just 15 broad disciplines. The chancellor also announced an increase of more than 50 per cent in the number of hours of training required for 16- to 19-year-old technical students. There will be a high-quality, three-month work placement for every student to help to ensure that candidates qualify genuinely ready for the world of work.

Any attempt at bridging the UK’s yawning skills gap is very welcome; it demonstrates that the government recognises how serious the issue has become.

Accordingly, the introduction of T-levels is positive news as is the Apprenticeship Levy, which is set to launch in April 2017, with its promise of three million new apprenticeships by 2020.

However, if this simpler qualification system is to work, its value must be recognised not only by students but also by employers and educators. If not, T-levels risk being seen as inferior to more academic qualifications and university degrees, as has been seen with apprenticeships over the past few decades, despite potentially unlocking routes to vital, highly skilled careers.

So, will T-levels and the Apprenticeship Levy be able to change this perception?

Government can continue to play a role in ­providing an appropriate landscape for training, which on the face of it the introduction of T-levels may assist. Nevertheless, long-term solutions to the UK’s oft-noted skills ­shortage; the need to increasingly promote science, technology, engineering and maths subjects in schools, colleges and universities; and the encouragement of greater ­equality and diversity in engineering disciplines, can only be delivered effectively through the direct action of ­industry, not simply via edicts of the state.

Alongside this, independent careers advice, highlighting different career options and pathways, needs to happen now and fast. Otherwise the old prejudices will remain and the skills gap within our sector and beyond will continue to widen.