Awarding giant Pearson has been contracted to develop the legal services T Level, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education announced today.
The announcement now means that the institute has a full-house of awarding organisations to develop all 23 of the government’s flagship level 3 qualifications.
It also means that Pearson has the complete set of T Levels under the legal, finance and accounting route. A total of 35 providers are currently preparing to deliver the finance and accounting T Levels from this September. Delivery of the legal services qualification begins in September 2023.
The value of Pearson’s contract totals £3.44 million.
Pearson’s head of technical products Suzanne Hall said “We are delighted to be delivering the legal services T Level technical qualification. We look forward to using our expertise to support students as they begin their programmes of study and playing our part in developing talent in this vital industry.”
Pearson, along with NCFE, was one of the first awarding organisations to receive contracts to develop T Levels. The very first cohorts of students on its T Levels in digital production, design and development and design, surveying and planning began their studies in 2020 and are due to become some of the first T Level graduates in the country later this year.
Legal services is part of the wave four rollout of T Levels, however was absent from the announcement of wave four awarding organisations back in October.
A spokesperson for the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education said the delay was because there were no successful bidders in the main procurement round for the subject which concluded in summer 2021.
But a further procurement took place in the autumn after more interest was received. The spokesperson confirmed the T Level will be delivered in the same timescales as the other contracts in wave four.
Employers and the institute have said that the legal services T Level will improve social mobility by attracting people from more diverse backgrounds into legal professions.
Cassie Williams, a barrister from Bedford Row Chambers, said: “Justice is served when lawyers and people working across legal services come from all walks of life. This T Level will provide the opportunity for this to become a reality.”
Jennifer Coupland, chief executive at the institute, said she “couldn’t wait” to see the T Level rolled out in classrooms and that it will “help open out the profession to people who may want to follow a more direct training route into work”.
This will include, Coupland added, being “an important stepping stone to degree apprenticeships and more conventional degrees.”
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