Colleges and training providers in the third wave of the T Level rollout are being invited to bid for a slice of £135 million to help upgrade their facilities.

The capital fund, launched today, is being made available to those that will offer the new technical qualifications from 2022. It follows previous funds that totalled £38 million for wave one, and £95 million for wave two.

Winning bidders can use the cash to upgrade classrooms and buildings, as well as to pay for specialist kit that meet industry standards.

The first three T Levels – the technical equivalent to A-levels – in construction, digital and education and childcare were launched in September 2020.

A further seven will be available from 2021 in subjects including health, science and onsite construction and subjects including finance, media and legal will be introduced from 2022 and 2023.

Education secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The successful launch of T Levels earlier this year represents the start of a transformation in our technical education system – giving young people the vital skills they need to get ahead and giving employers the talented workforce they need to thrive as we build back better from the pandemic.

“To deliver world class qualifications providers need to have world class facilities and cutting-edge equipment, this funding will help to make sure students have the skills and knowledge to succeed when they finish their T Levels.”

As previously revealed by FE Week, colleges and training providers will have to keep on running T Levels for at least 20 years if they want to avoid handing back the millions they will receive in capital funding.

Forty four providers are in wave one of T Levels delivery. A further 64 will begin offering the qualifications in 2021, and a further 88 have been chosen for wave three beginning in 2022.

All providers delivering 16 to 19 study programmes will be able to deliver T Levels from 2024.

The deadline for bids to the wave three capital fund is 26 March 2021.

 

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *