DfE revises 2023-24 T Level pass rates

The proportion of students passing T Levels last year has risen to 91 per cent after the government took resits and marking reviews into account.

Figures released on exam results day in August said the pass rate dipped to 89 per cent in 2023-24.

But a revision to the data published this morning showed a 2.3 percentage point rise to the pass rate to 91 per cent, from a total of 7,421 students in the third cohort of T Level students.

The pass rate increase was due mainly to the Department for Education reflecting late completions of industry placements but also outcomes to reviews of markings and appeals between August results day and November 1.

The additional student numbers include some learners from previous cohorts that had to resit some of the T Level components.

The dropout rate stayed at 29 percent.

DfE also revised figures for previous cohorts. A total of 3,559 students were awarded a T Level in 10 pathways in 2022/23, a 3 per cent rise from previous data releases. The pass rate for the year has now been revised up by 3.4 percentage points to 93.9 per cent.

A T Level has three parts – the core component involving a core exam and employer set project, the occupational specialism and the minimum 315-hour industry placement.

The proportion of students completing their industry placements declined slightly. Revised figures for 2022-23 show 96 per cent finished a placement, dropping to 95.5 per cent in 2023-24.

DfE has also released provider-level data on T Level achievements for the first time (see below).

Today’s data included results from 162 providers, 61 of which taught T Levels from 2022 for the first time.

It showed 33 providers had 20 or more T Level students enrolled, comprising mostly FE colleges. Their pass rates for 2023-24 varied between 77.5 per cent to 98.8 per cent.

Leicester College had the largest intake of learners, with 192 students, 83.1 per cent of which achieved a pass or above.

Meanwhile, Exeter College students were awarded the highest pass rate, with 98.9 per cent of its 159-cohort getting a pass or above.

See the full provider list here:

Apprenticeship achievement rates 2023-24: what you need to know

With the overall apprenticeship achievement rate now passing 60 per cent, FE Week has dived into the data to see what trends and patterns are hidden beneath the headlines…

ITPs jump 6.5 percentage points, but specialist colleges improved the most

Apprenticeship achievement rates improved in each provider type except schools in academic year 2023-24.

Three in five (63 per cent) apprenticeships recorded as leavers were trained by independent training providers (ITPs). Achievement rates in ITPs increased to 57.7 per cent. While 2.8 percentage points shy of the overall average, this was a 6.5 percentage point increase from the year before.

Achievement rates in further education colleges also improved, but at a lower rate than ITPs, to 62.3 per cent up from 57.8 per cent. Around one in five leavers trained with a further education college in 2023-24.

The largest achievement rate rise was in specialist colleges which increased by 10.1 percentage points, from 54.2 per cent in 2022-23 to 64.3 per cent in 2023-24.

Officials categorise universities which deliver degree-level apprenticeships in an “other” category, which also includes local authorities. Achievement rates for this group improved from 65 per cent to 68.6 per cent with around 16 per cent of the cohort.

Large providers (mostly) improve

With over 14,000 leavers recorded for 2023-24, England’s largest training provider scored a 40.5 per cent achievement rate, up from 35 per cent the previous year.

Lifetime Training delivered 47 apprenticeship standards in sectors including care, hospitality and retail. It improved its achievement rate after a 10-percentage point dip between 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Notable improvements among large-volume training providers also include Multiverse, 59 per cent up from 51.8 per cent and Corndel, 74.9 per cent up from 64.7 per cent.

Among the providers with the highest achievement rates for 2023-24 was League Football Education. Its 600 leavers for that year were all on the level 3 sporting excellence professional standard and scored an achievement rate of 95.3 per cent. 

However, it wasn’t good news across the board. Ixion Holdings clocked up an extra 600 apprentice leavers in 2023-24 but saw its achievement rate decline from 50.4 per cent to 21.8 per cent. 

For colleges, Bridgwater and Taunton had the highest number of leavers (1,250) across 102 apprenticeship standards and improved its achievement rate from 64.3 per cent to 70.2 per cent.

Level 6 reaches achievement rate target

Level 6 apprenticeships have surpassed the government’s 67 per cent apprenticeship achievement rate target. They were already the highest performing apprenticeships, but saw their achievement rate increase to 69.1 per cent in 2023-24, up from 65.7 per cent in 2022-23.

Apprenticeships at level 4 saw the largest achievement increase, jumping 10 percentage points from 46.9 per cent to 56.9 per cent. 

Level 7 apprenticeships are the next closest group to the target, now standing at 62.5 per cent.

Each of the top 10 most popular apprenticeships saw their achievement rates increase, except the level 7 accountancy and tax professional standard.

The level 3 team leader, which had the highest number of leavers in 2023-24 (12,570) had an achievement rate of 61.5 per cent, up from 54 per cent the year before. 

Meanwhile the level 3 business administrator became the only top 10 apprenticeship to have surpassed the government’s 67 per cent target, with an achievement rate in 2023-24 of 68.6 per cent. 

The lowest performing standards in the top 10 were the adult care worker and lead adult care worker. The level 2 adult care worker standard improved from 39.6 per cent to 46.1 per cent. For the level 3 lead adult care worker, the rate increased from 38.5 per cent to 44.8 per cent.

LLDD achievement up, but so is the gap

The achievement rate gap between learners with learning difficulties and disabilities (LLDD) increased slightly to 4.5 percentage points in 2023-24 compared to 4.3 in 2022-23.

Data shows 14 per cent of apprentice leavers in 2023-24 were LLDD, a similar proportion to the year before. The achievement rate for those apprentices was 56.7 per cent, up from 51 per cent the year before.

Overall ethnicity achievement gap falls

New achievement rate data shows the gap between white and ethnic minority apprentices has narrowed to its lowest level in three years.

There was a 5.3 percentage point gap in favour of white apprentices in 2023-24, down from 6.8 the year before. The combined achievement rate for ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) was 56 per cent, compared to 61.3 per cent for white apprentices.

Data shows the gap has narrowed across each ethnicity has narrowed, though the largest gaps remain between white (61.3 per cent) and Black / African / Caribbean / Black British (53.9 per cent). This 7.4 percentage point gap for 2023-24 was 10.2 per cent in 2022-23.

The smallest gap, 3.3 percentage points,  was between white and Asian / Asian British apprentices (57.2 per cent).

Achievement gap between most and least deprived narrows overall

The overall achievement gap between apprentices from the most and least deprived postcodes continues to narrow slowly. 

Officials use the index of multiple deprivation (IMD) to classify the home areas of apprentices into five quintiles of relative deprivation.

In 2023-24, the achievement rate for apprentices from the most deprived areas was 56 per cent – an improvement from 49.5 per cent the year before. For those from the least deprived, the achievement rate increased to 63.9 per cent from 58.4 per cent. 

This means there was a 7.9 percentage point gap in achievement rates, down from 8.9 in 2022-23 and 9.8 in 2021-22.

However for 16- to- 18-year-olds, the gap grew very slightly from 8.4 percentage points in 2022-23 to 8.5 in 2023-24.

We’re driving apprenticeships forward and speeding past 60

Back in 2022 at AELP’s national conference, the then skills minister Alex Burghart threw down the gauntlet – he set an ambition for apprenticeship qualification achievement rates (QAR) to hit 67%. At the time, with QARs hovering stubbornly around 50%, that goal seemed, well… let’s say ambitious.

Critics didn’t hold back. They wielded that QAR figure like a stick, beating up the apprenticeship programme – and independent training providers in particular.

But here’s the thing. While the noise continued, the sector did what it always does: people put their heads down and got on with the hard graft.

And now? It’s paying off.

We’re delighted (and let’s be honest, a little bit proud) to welcome the Department for Education’s announcement that apprenticeship QARs have risen to 60.5%. That’s a significant milestone. A symbolic threshold crossed, decisively.

This is not by chance. It’s the result of year-on-year improvement, built through dedication and detailed work at every stage of the learner journey: from engaging employers and line managers more effectively, to setting clearer expectations for learners, to strengthening onboarding and pastoral care, to innovating in teaching, to sharpening up admin across the programme.

Crucially, people haven’t done this alone – we’ve done it together.

We’ve seen collaboration like never before. Providers learning from each other. Peer support and shared practice flourishing, including through the excellent Apprenticeship Workforce Development programme. At AELP, we’re proud to have played a big part in that, though we’re certainly not the only ones.

We’ve worked closely with the government to remove friction from the system – wins like simplifying the apprenticeship funding rules, pushing for better data sharing and improving funding clarity for our members.

We’ve explained to the wider economy how apprenticeships actually work, and how employer groups can be part of the solution. We’ve cultivated a community of providers through special interest groups, sector forums (now relaunched as the AELP Exchange) and our packed calendar of events and conferences.

A great example is this week’s AELP Maths & English Conference. The feedback was the most positive we’ve ever had because it was practical, focused and built around what providers need.

This is all backed up by improvements made in Ofsted inspection outcomes too: 90% of learners are now with good or outstanding providers, up from 86% last year.

So yes, 60.5% is a reason to celebrate. But we’re not stopping here.

We anticipate further increases in the coming year, powered by both the sector’s ongoing commitment to improvement and as the impact of policy changes start to feed through and have an impact (like adjustments to functional skills qualification policy).

AELP’s second mini-commission will soon be identifying the next wave of improvements, especially around how we use data to drive even more sophisticated, learner-focused interventions, and how employers can have greater accountability.

The momentum is real. The ambition is growing. The results are visible.

So, here’s our message to policymakers, particularly those at HM Treasury: don’t waste this moment.

Apprenticeship funding works. These numbers prove it. And the sector is ready to go further if it gets the backing it deserves. Simplifying access, cutting red tape and giving providers the resources and flexibility they need must be a priority.

We also need to ensure that funds raised for apprenticeships are actually spent on apprenticeships. We need to unlock the £800m gap between what’s raised by employers to spend on apprenticeships, and what the Treasury lets them spend.

We’re not just hitting targets anymore. We’re transforming lives, powering growth and reshaping the future of the UK workforce.

Let’s build on this milestone and turn this latest data into a launchpad for even more improvements.

Being an effective ally for the 5%

A recent FE Week report found that only 5 per cent of FE college principals come from culturally diverse backgrounds. This raises a crucial question for leaders: Are you enabling or blocking talent from progressing when it comes to diversity?

This issue extends beyond education; football, for instance, sees diverse talent on the field but not in management, where swift dismissals are common.

In leadership, progress often requires allyship. The rise of female leaders wasn’t accidental; male allies advocated for them, challenged biases, and amplified their voices. Allyship isn’t passive; it demands action. Declaring inclusivity isn’t enough. It must be demonstrated.

I have been in meetings where people claim to be inclusive, yet the room lacks diversity. True allyship means breaking these patterns and ensuring real representation. If you are truly interested in becoming an effective ally, reflect on whether you practice the following:

Seen, but not heard in meetings

In a meeting or conversation, how inclusive are your actions?

  • Do you ensure that everyone has a voice or are some voices ignored?
  • Do you engage in on-the-side conversations that exclude others?
  • Do you invite underrepresented colleagues to key meetings where decisions are made, providing them opportunities to grow or do you leave them out, limiting their ability to contribute?
  • Ask your staff privately whether they feel celebrated or isolated in meetings.

Silence speaks volumes

Silence can be powerful in the right moment, but it is dangerous when it allows discrimination or unfair treatment to go unchallenged. Consider how you respond in critical moments:

  • When people of colour are affected by major events, such as racial injustice protests, do you check in on colleagues to see how they’re feeling or do you remain silent, unsure of what to say?
  • Some argue that they don’t know the right words, but saying nothing can be more harmful. Often, people just want to be heard and know that their colleagues stand against discrimination.

Encouragement and support matters with diversity

In education, there has been a noticeable lack of encouragement for certain individuals. In many cases, subtle discouragement is expressed through phrases like, “I know you want to progress, but…” even when an individual is fully qualified for the role. Conversely, individuals who share similar backgrounds to their leaders are continually encouraged or informally approached to apply for leadership roles.

When expressing interest or applying for senior roles some candidates are met with surprise, indicating they are not considered for progression. Even after applying, feedback following an unsuccessful attempt is often vague and unconstructive, frequently using generic phrases like, “It was close, but the other candidate had the edge” or “You made it a tough decision for us.” This pattern suggests a need for more transparent and equitable processes in leadership progression.

Be aware of ‘disguised compliance’ in diversity

Originally a safeguarding term, disguised compliance also applies to inclusivity in the workplace. Some leaders claim to champion diversity. They highlight their international travels, their diversity-related accreditations, or presenting impressive equality, diversity and inclusion plans—yet their daily actions contradict these claims.

Ask yourself:

  • When providing feedback, do you do so to help someone improve, or are you planting seeds of doubt that will frame them negatively in future discussions?
  • Do you genuinely include underrepresented staff in career advancement opportunities?
  • Are some underrepresented staff hyper-visible when things go wrong, but invisible when things go well?

Be brave and use your privilege to do things differently

`Ask yourself:

  • How actively do you support underrepresented staff in progressing?
  • Have you mentored or sponsored employees from diverse backgrounds?
  • Have you engaged in reverse mentoring to understand their experiences?
  • Do you talk to your staff about their potential, or do you only talk about them negatively in passing to other people?

Leaders should ask themselves whether they are setting up individuals to succeed or to fail through their expectations. All too often unrealistic demands are placed on aspiring managers which lead to fatigue and burnout.

 If you want to drive real change and challenge the status quo, start today. Take intentional steps to support, advocate for, and uplift diverse talent within your team. Because the benefits are clear; your staff will feel valued and motivated, retention will improve, and over time, leadership teams will better reflect the diversity of the student population.

By making these changes, we can move beyond the 5 per cent statistic and ensure that talent from all backgrounds has a fair chance to thrive.

‘Fantastic result’: Apprenticeship achievement rate hits 60.5%

The national apprenticeship achievement rate has jumped up to 60.5 per cent, new figures show.

It means the proportion of apprentices who successfully completed their training and assessment on time rose by 6.2 percentage points last year.

The boost moves the FE sector much closer to the government’s 67 per cent achievement rate target that it hopes to achieve by the end of 2024-25.

Today’s data shows the apprenticeship dropout rate has also noticeably improved. 

In 2023-24, 38.1 per cent of apprentices dropped out before completing their training, compared to 44.1 per cent the year before. The dropout rate on standards hit a concerning 53.4 per cent in 2019-20.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith said the overall achievement rate rise is the “biggest increase since the standards were introduced” and a “fantastic result”.

In a letter to the sector, she said the progress “is testament to our partnership and the hard work” of apprenticeship providers.

The minister pointed out that college achievement rates improved from 57.4 per cent to 62.4 per cent, an increase of 5 percentage points. Meanwhile, independent training providers increased 6.5 percentage points from 51.2 per cent to 57.7 per cent.

Smith said: “Clearly, we have made strong progress, but I don’t want to stop here. We will continue to press on with these improvements; and go further.”

It marks a change in tone from the DfE, which last year warned providers with persistently low achievement rates that they face suspensions on starts and removal from the training market. This was after the achievement rate rose by just 2.9 percentage points.

Ben Rowland, CEO of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “A significant increase in achievement rates is excellent news and a testament to the tireless efforts of learners, employers, and providers across the country. 

“Crucially, the sector hasn’t done this alone—it’s done it together. We’ve seen collaboration like never before. Providers learning from each other. Peer support and shared practice flourishing.”

Rowland added: “We continue to champion the view that skills means growth and this progress underscores the value of investing in the skills sector. As we look ahead to June’s comprehensive spending review, this data will give the Treasury reassurance that apprenticeship funding delivers real, measurable outcomes.” 

FE should brace itself for Austerity 2.0

The Spring Statement is bad news for Further Education. Britain’s economic doom loop just got bigger.

Since the autumn budget, a black hole of £14 billion in the public finances has opened up. It comes on top of the £22 billion deficit Labour says they inherited from the Conservatives. No wonder Mel Stride, shadow chancellor, rose to the dispatch box with such glee to accuse Reeves of being “the architect of her own misfortune”.

Given that the ‘Iron Chancellor’ refuses to budge from her self-imposed fiscal rules of creating a £9.9 billion surplus by the end of this Parliament, significant cuts to non-protected departmental expenditure are on the way.

We won’t know the full details until the Treasury publishes the outcome of the comprehensive spending review. But it doesn’t take an economic genius to work out that with growth slashed by half, taxes at a new record high and debt interest running at more than the cost of the £100 billion a year education budget, the sector desperately needs to develop a credible plan.

For all the political grandstanding of newly minted ministers overseeing another “skills revolution”, in reality, what FE is about to enter is the age of austerity 2.0.

Of course, it won’t be felt evenly across the whole tertiary system. FE providers in areas with big defence contractors and supply chains could potentially see a boom in enrolments and investments. Similarly, those bidding for a share of the government’s £600 million construction skills fund may use it to stave off mass redundancies among staff. The DWP’s get Britain working funds will find their way into the more entrepreneurial parts of the sector.

It will create a dog-eat-dog mentality, including the scramble to be rebadged by the Department for Education as one of ten new technical education colleges.

The challenge for policymakers and sector leaders is that FE has hardly recovered from the last scorched-earth policy of austerity brought in by George Osborne. During that period, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, education spending overall under the Conservatives declined as a share of national income, from about 5.6 per cent when Labour left office in 2010 to 4.4 per cent in 2022-23.

Spending per student declined by 14 per cent in colleges for 16–18-year-olds and by 28 per cent in school sixth forms. College staff have seen their real terms pay fall by 18 per cent since 2010, with a significant pay gap opening up with school teachers and industry professionals.

During last year’s general election campaign, Labour promised to end this doom loop by restoring economic growth.

However, growth has not materialised and even when it does, according to the OBR forecast, the country is looking at increasing living standards at about half the rate it was before the 2008 financial crash.

All this points to an elephant in the room: where is the department’s and the sector’s blueprint to set out how skills reform will improve productivity?

This week in Parliament was a golden opportunity for the phalanx of sector leaders summoned before the education select committee to say how they would improve the system.

Disappointedly, the sessions were light on solutions. Instead, we heard a range of platitudes and special pleading by a sector that runs the danger of being caught fiddling while Rome burns.

Of course, that approach suits the technocrats in SW1, who love nothing more than to tinker here and salami-slice there.

Until FE deploys far more intellectual rigour for how the country could reform its skills model to boost economic growth through a joined-up lobbying blueprint, it will continue to be viewed as a ‘Cinderella service’.

DfE ditches draft apprenticeship funding rules

The Department for Education will not publish a draft version of apprenticeship funding rules this year.

Officials said today that they will release the 2025-26 rules for the first time in May instead of in March.

This approach “allows us to incorporate the latest policy developments before publication”, an update from the DfE said.

During the March to May period, the department will “engage with the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP), the Association of Colleges (AoC) and our expert providers to ensure the rules are as clear as possible”.

Funding and data expert Steve Hewitt said he was “very disappointed with DfE for taking this decision”. 

“Over the years those in the front line of delivering apprenticeships have made vital contributions to improve the clarity of rules presented in draft versions,” he told FE Week.

“My concern is that a smaller ‘focus group’ won’t catch all of the ramifications of changes proposed to the detriment of the whole sector.”

Simon Ashworth, deputy CEO of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said: “There are lots of moving parts in the apprenticeship system, including important reforms that require legislative change. Understandably, this will mean a shift from the timetable we’ve become used to in recent years for the publication of funding rules.

“The DfE has given the sector an early steer on the areas in scope for change, which will help manage expectations and lay the groundwork for the new rules. We look forward to continuing our work with the department to help turn policy into practice.”

Ashworth added that it is important the rules are published as soon as possible as there “needs to be ample lead time so providers and suppliers can be hit the ground running and be compliant at the start of August”.

The DfE said today that changes for 2025-26 will focus on “several priority areas”, including “operational developments” such as finalising the implementation of new foundation apprenticeships and off-the-job policy.

The rules will introduce updates across: 

•               “active learning policy, with adjustments to support more flexible delivery models and maintain learner engagement

•               “prisoner apprenticeships, clarifying processes and eligibility to expand apprenticeship access for prisoners

•               “changes to end-point assessment (EPA), implementing modifications following announcements made during National Apprenticeship Week

•               “eligibility criteria, updating eligibility guidelines to ensure greater clarity and consistency

•               “English and maths clarifications, providing further guidance on English and maths requirements to support all apprentices”

Apprenticeships starting after August 1, 2025 will follow the new rules.

Spring statement 2025: What the chancellor announced for FE

The chancellor has confirmed a £625 million construction skills package that it hopes will “boost” training with up to 60,000 new workers in the next four years.

Rachel Reeves also endorsed £4.8 billion in welfare budget cuts, which the government hopes will push more young people into work and training, and a target of 15 per cent savings to department administrative budgets.

The spring statement published after the speech offered more detail on how the construction skills funding will be spent, but the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has raised concerns about “significant pressures” on unprotected budgets, which include FE.

Reeves said the new measures will give working people “new opportunities” and “the chance to fulfil their potential”.

Commenting on the cuts to benefits, which will remove the right to universal credit health top ups for under 22-year-olds, she added: “If we do nothing we are writing off an entire generation.

“That cannot be right, it is a waste of their futures, and we will change that.”

Here’s a rundown of what impacts further education:

10,000 foundation apprentices

The statement set a target of 10,000 “additional places” on foundation apprentices for the first time, funded by £40 million, to give young people a “high-quality entry route into a new career”.

According to announcements this weekend, the £40 million will reportedly fund £2,000 incentives for employers who “take on and retain” foundation apprentices. The cash incentives were however absent from today’s spring statement.

10 Technical Excellence Colleges

The technical excellence college initiative confirmed at the weekend, funded by £100 million in “new investment”, will mean ten existing colleges “in every region in England” will be “specialised in construction”.

Around £80 million of this will be for capital investment and the remaining £20 million for revenue, to fund “specialist facilities, equipment, and curriculum for construction courses to directly meet industry needs”.

Details remain limited about a new separate £80 million capital fund “to support employers to deliver bespoke training tailored to their needs”.

35,000 more bootcampers

Up to 35,000 new entrants, “returners” and existing workers will be able to access “construction-focused” skills bootcamps, through about £100 million in funding.

The government is yet to confirm who will oversee commissioning the newly announced funding for construction bootcamps amid the Department for Education’s move to pause national commissioning of bootcamps, instead funding the short courses through ring-fenced grants to mayors and local authorities.

£165m for ‘more construction courses’

About £165 million will also be available to colleges and training providers through a “high value course premium” and free courses for jobs.

The Treasury told FE Week this is “additional” funding that has been “scored at the spring statement”, but a course premium for subject areas including construction is already established policy.

Skills policy expert Tom Bewick said: “Note how [the Treasury] refuses to say whether this is additional investment… instead saying: ‘This is new funding being scored at spring statement’.

“Bureaucratic translation: ‘This is money we’ve recycled within our existing budgets, but Treasury requires an eye-catching announcement for the Spring Statement’.

“We’ll only know for sure when the [spending review] is published in the autumn. That zero-based budgeting exercise will show what different political choices they’ve made.

“But given the fact that real terms day to day spending in non-protected areas is set to fall over the Parliament, I can’t see how this is anything other than Austerity 2.0 for the FE sector.”

Industry exchange to teach in FE

The Treasury also announced plans for a ‘teacher industry exchange’ scheme to “attract experts” to teach in FE.

This appears similar to the ‘workforce industry exchange programme’ announced in the skills for jobs white paper in 2021, which promised to “support providers to engage in a sustainable, two-way exchange with industry”.

FE Week has approached the Department for Education for comment.

DfE budget rise but braced for civil service cuts

The Department for Education’s budget will increase by £4.9 billion from £89.2 billion in 2024-25 to £94.1 billion in 2025-26.

This includes an increase of £1.7 billion in non core-school funding, which will rise from £27.6 billion to £29.3 billion next year, although it is unclear what proportion of this is for 16-19 or adult education budgets.

The DfE is likely to be impacted by a target of reducing its administrative budget by 15 per cent, funded by a £150 million exit payment scheme and cutting-edge “AI exemplars” that will make government operations “more efficient and effective”.

Concern for unprotected budgets

According to the OBR’s forecast of Treasury’s spending, “unprotected” departments will face “significant pressures” in coming years, with day-to-day budgets cut by 0.8 per cent per year in real terms from 2026-27.

Stephen Evans, chief executive of the Learning and Work Institute, pointed out that this could mean “another £200 million” in cuts to adult education and skills by the end of the decade.

He added: “We’ll see in the spending review whether this is genuinely extra money, or robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

Benefits savings

Reeves confirmed that the benefits cuts will save £4.8 billion, with £1 billion reinvested into “guaranteed personalised employment support” and £400 million for Jobcentres.

But the OBR said the government shared its analysis of savings to be made from the reforms “very late”, which “hampered” their ability to add these measures to their forecast.

Qualification challenges threaten government’s housing mission

The government’s extremely ambitious house building targets are creating a debate around whether we have the construction workforce to actually deliver 1.5 million homes over the next five years. At the minute the industry has sufficient capacity to build the 200,000 homes a year it is currently delivering. But if the government can create an environment where around 300,000 homes could be built each year, the industry would have to recruit and train tens of thousands of new people across a range of trades. That is a big ‘if’, even with the new funding announced over the weekend.  There are other considerable barriers to increasing supply; while the planning policy changes the government has made are very welcome, there are other market and regulatory costs and delays in the planning process they need to tackle before ‘skills’ even comes into play.

However, the intent is clearly there and regardless of the debate around housing policy, it is key that we put in place the building blocks to enable us to effectively train the workforce of tomorrow.

One vital area that needs to be tackled is vocational qualifications. Currently just 25 per cent of those on FE construction courses go directly to working in the industry, according to a 2020 report from the Construction Industry Training Board – a shocking statistic that from an industry perspective we simply have to address.

The main reason for this is that too many courses today fail to equip learners with the practical skills and qualities that employers’ demand. As a result they struggle to find jobs in construction, often abandoning their career ambitions or having to enrol in additional training to become work-ready.

This means the time before they get into useful productive work, and crucially start to get paid well, is elongated.

We have to find a way to reform vocational courses so they are responding to industry needs and providing a viable route into employment.

Some T levels are now fulfilling this requirement. The design surveying and planning course is providing a real pathway into a quantity surveying degree apprenticeship. And there are some similar BTEC examples. But many trade specific courses are not and fundamental changes are needed to make them a useful option for learners and employers alike.

A starting point must be the structure of the courses. Providing students with just 16 hours a week in total learning, of which only around four hours is practical training, is never going to provide tomorrow’s bricklayers or joiners with the skills they need.

Funding is clearly critical here, and whilst we have the ear of a government that has put increasing housing supply as its number one policy commitment, we’re ensuring that they’re aware of this point. We simply must adequately fund FE colleges to ensure vocational courses are full-time, well-resourced, and properly staffed. This will enable learners to complete their courses with the skills and experience needed to be work-ready and fully employable.

Properly funding FE colleges and improving the courses they offer will provide a section of our young people that currently are not served well enough by the education system, with huge opportunities.

Less than 20 per cent of 25–64-year-olds in the UK hold a vocational qualification, compared to nearly 50 per cent in other European countries like Germany. This discrepancy must have an impact on our productivity and growth as an economic competitor.

 We need to make the case to decision makers and more broadly in schools and to parents, that a good vocational qualification can lead to a rewarding, and very well-paid career.

We are prioritising this through our ‘partner a college’ initiative, which connects member companies with colleges to provide support and shape courses to better meet industry needs. We’re working with the government and stakeholders on improvements to apprenticeships, the development of skills hubs, and our ongoing women into construction programme. If we can get this key route into industry right, it will help ensure we are well positioned to deliver the workforce, houses and growth the government and the country desperately need.