T Levels and the outcome of the Review of Qualifications Reform

On 12 December 2024 the government announced the outcome of the review of level 3 qualifications reform. The review looked at qualifications route by route, and a summary of what this means for T Levels is as follows:

• A commitment to T Levels as an excellent qualification option, confirming that where learners wish to study a large qualification in a T Level route, the T Level should be the main option for them. 
• Support for providers will continue with three new T Levels introduced this year and a further T Level in Marketing available from September 2025. Capital funding allocations will go out in the first half of next year for providers delivering new routes in 2025. 
• The ongoing review of the content and assessment of the first T Levels will ensure they provide the best possible opportunities for a wide range of students, whilst maintaining quality. Updated delivery approaches for industry placements have already been announced and will reduce complexity and enable providers to more easily deliver placements that are tailored to individual student and employer circumstances. 
• New enrolments onto the T Level in Onsite Construction will cease, with the September 2024 entrants being the final group of students to enter onto it. Although this T Level is providing valuable education and industry experience, and a positive route into employment for students undertaking it, on the whole its success and uptake have been limited due to the overall lack of demand for a large level 3 qualification in this area. Students currently enrolled on the programme will be able to complete it as intended, and providers who received capital funding for the Onsite Construction T Level can use equipment already purchased for other Construction pathways or other Construction related non-T Level qualifications. In the future, the needs of learners and the economy in this pathway will be met through apprenticeships and other classroom provision. T Levels in Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction, and Building Services Engineering for Construction will continue.
• The department is considering whether T Levels in Catering and in Beauty Therapy would meet the needs of learners and the economy and will provide an update when this work has concluded. Any new T Levels in these areas would not be introduced until at least 2026.