Government should pause post-16 education reforms

According to a new report by the Education Committee, the government should slow down with its post-16 education reforms as rushing ahead risks leaving young people stranded without suitable qualification pathways and deepening worker shortages in key sectors.

This is due to the Department for Education’s (DfE’s) plans to withdraw funding from tried and tested Applied General Qualifications (AGQs), such as BTECs, before there is sufficient time for the evaluation and rollout of T Levels, the recently introduced technical alternative to A Levels.
 
The Committee’s report The future of post-16 qualifications urges DfE to place a moratorium on the withdrawal of funding for AGQs until there is robust evidence that T Levels are demonstrably more effective at helping students progress, meeting industry needs and promoting social mobility. This argument was made by the vast majority of those who submitted evidence to the inquiry.
 
The cross-party Committee finds that withdrawing funding for many AGQs prematurely risks constricting student choice and narrowing progression opportunities. This could in turn lead to an increase in the number of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET).
 
Meanwhile, the introduction of T Levels Since 2019 has been weakened by concern over unequal regional access to industry placements (the mandatory 9-week component of the programme), scalability concerns, and an apparent decline in employer interest in offering placements. T Levels will not succeed without significant industry buy-in.  
 
The Committee argues that the ability of businesses large and small to offer sufficient, high-quality placements, and a clear track record of T Level success, should be prerequisites to scrapping AGQs.
 
MPs heard that T Levels may not be accessible to students with lower academic attainment or with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). DfE introduced the T Level Transition Programme for learners who require an additional year of preparation, but only 14% of the programme’s first cohort of students moved onto a T Level – a figure the Committee calls “entirely inadequate”.
 
The report also notes the dramatic 41% decline in under-19s starting apprenticeships between 2015/16 and 2021/22. New starts on level 2 (GCSE equivalent) apprenticeships fell 69% over the same period.
 
The majority of apprenticeships are instead undertaken by older, more qualified adults. The Committee urges the Government to address this and make apprenticeships the gold-standard ‘earn and learn’ option for young people.
 
MPs also call for a “wholesale review” of 16-19 funding after hearing about the difficulties the sector faced due to real terms reductions in funding between 2010 and 2020.
 
Education Committee Chair Robin Walker MP said: “We welcome the Government’s ambition to declutter the post-16 landscape and raise the status of technical qualifications. The Prime Minister was right when he hailed further education as a silver bullet that could boost productivity by giving workers the right skills for an evolving economy.  
 
“We were also buoyed by evidence that T Levels are proving successful. But it is essential that DfE promotes them among students and the thousands of employers needed to supply work placements, or else T Levels will fail to make a meaningful difference.
 
“We have concerns about the feasibility of scaling up T Levels, and as it stands, the planned withdrawal of AGQs will constrict student choice and could deepen the skills shortages that these reforms are meant to fix, including in vital sectors such as social care – effectively pulling the rug from under the further education system. We call for a moratorium on these reforms until T Levels are fully rolled out and there is robust evidence to show they adequately replace AGQs.
 
“Ministers must also ensure T Levels don’t leave students unrewarded for their efforts. Clear pathways need to be established to ensure T Level graduates can seamlessly progress to a range of destinations including undergraduate degrees, apprenticeships and Higher Technical Qualifications.
 
“We also call on DfE to reverse the sharp decline in apprenticeship starts and address the perverse situation where the majority of apprenticeships are being given to older, already highly qualified adults at the expense of young people, and the taxpayer.”