The Institute for Apprenticeships is seeking input from providers, awarding organisations and employers on the draft content for three more T-level pathways.
Its consultation on the three new courses – two in construction and one in digital – was launched today and runs until November 12.
The new pathways, in onsite construction, building services engineering and digital support and services, are expected to be rolled out from 2021 onwards.
Sir Gerry Berragan, the IfA’s chief executive, said the content for these “exciting new T-levels” had been “carefully designed by panels and professional employers”.
“We are now seeking feedback from everyone interested in helping to ensure that T Levels lead the way in transforming the public standing of technical education, while also serving the skills needs of the UK economy for generations to come,” he said.
The draft content sets out the knowledge and skills required for each of the three new pathways, based on the same occupational standards as apprenticeship, to ensure that anyone taking the course can develop the skills needed by employers in that industry.
The purpose of the consultation is to ensure that the content “capture the right knowledge, skills and performance outcomes”, according to today’s announcement.
This is the second batch of draft content to have gone out for consultation.
The first batch covered the first three pathways to be introduced for teaching from 2020: design, surveying and planning, in the constructions route; digital production, design and development, in the digital route; and education and childcare.
These three routes will be introduced for teaching in 2020.
T-levels were first announced in 2016, following the Sainsbury review of technical education.
They’re intended to set a new “gold standard” in training, and be on a par with A-levels.
According to the Department for Education’s response to its T-level consultation, published in May this year, it intends to introduce 13 courses in 2021 and a further nine in 2022 – with full delivery delayed until 2023.
In May this year the education secretary Damian Hinds over-ruled his permanent secretary’s request to push back the introduction of the first T-levels until 2021.
In his published ministerial direction – the first ever from an education secretary – Mr Hinds said that none of the advice he had received “has indicated that teaching from 2020 cannot be achieved”.
Click here to view the IfA’s consultation page.
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