Scrapping the contentious single-licence awarding body model for T Levels “may positively influence” the fees that colleges pay per student, Ofqual has said. From 2028, the government will replace exclusive contracts for the technical qualifications with an “open market model”, similar to the system used for A Levels and most other qualifications. The move means that for the first time, awarding organisations (AOs) will be responsible for certifying every element of a T Level, including industry placements, aggregating overall results and issuing final certificates. Ofqual, which opened a consultation on changing its regulatory framework to align with these new duties today, said the “competitive pressures” of opening up the market could have a “positive influence” on the fees, availability and quality of the qualifications. Currently, the government contracts four awarding organisations to deliver the 20 T Level qualifications available to students. The average weighted T Level qualification fee reached £283.75 in 2026, compared with £76.44 for vocational and technical qualifications and £132.97 for A Levels, according to Ofqual statistics. Fees rose by 3 per cent between the start of 2025 and 2026. Ofqual did not estimate how much fees could reduce by. ‘Minor to moderate’ costs for AOs Ofqual’s qualification level conditions consultation also warned that transferring responsibility for industry placements, results aggregation and issuing certificates could bring “minor to moderate” implementation and ongoing costs for awarding organisations. Until now, the Department for Education has overseen the completion of industry placements, collated parts of the T Level to determine overall results, and issued final certificates. Under Ofqual’s proposals, awarding bodies would be responsible for collecting, checking and retaining records of industry placement declarations. They would also have to ensure declarations are supported by evidence, aggregate results and comply with the DfE’s published subject content. The rules are set to come in from September 2028 for new T Levels such as sports and social care, and from whenever the other T Levels’ single licence models come to an end. The single awarding organisation per T Level model was introduced with the first set of technical qualifications in 2020, in contrast to most other qualifications including A Levels and GCSEs, which have a multi-awarding organisation market. DfE officials previously called the single supplier model “incredibly challenging”. Pearson, NCFE and City & Guilds have been the dominant holders of T Level contracts since their launch, but the latter two have gradually reduced their share of the market amid concerns the contract values did not meet delivery demands. Following a recent relicensing round, Pearson will award 16 out of the 20 available T Levels by September 2027. Placement oversight ‘significant’ change The Federation of Awarding Bodies said moving to a regulated market is an “important step in the development of T Levels”. A spokesperson said: “While changes to the regulation of the qualification element of T Levels appear relatively modest, the changes to the requirements around industry placements for awarding organisations are more significant. “And while Ofqual’s proposal place additional responsibility on awarding organisations to receive assurance that placements have been completed, it will be important for the success of the programme that government continues to provide support around the availability of placements.” The consultation is open for six weeks from today. Ofqual expects to publish its response and final decisions in early 2027.