A new round of next-generation T Level contracts could be worth more than double what was previously available when offered to awarding organisations early next year.
A market engagement notice was published by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) this week giving awarding bodies advanced notice of a tender to take over the six qualifications that formed wave 3 of the T Level roll-out.
The notice states the so-called “Gen-2” contracts to run three T Levels in engineering in manufacturing, as well as T Levels in management and administration, finance and accounting, are collectively worth an estimated £40.8 million – a near 150 per cent increase on Gen-1.
Contracts to run wave-3 T Levels were first awarded in 2020 and totalled £16.5 million. City & Guilds won £12.5 million to develop qualifications in engineering, manufacturing, processing and control; maintenance, installation and repair for engineering and manufacturing; design and development for engineering and manufacturing; and management and administration.
Pearson was awarded £4 million for T Levels in finance and accounting.
Awarding organisations will be invited to bid to take over contracts in spring with deals being awarded in the autumn. First teaching of the new Gen-2 wave-3 T Levels will then take place in September 2027.
Ahead of the full invitation to tender, IfATE told interested awarding organisations they would be required to update the qualifications’ content and assessment materials and develop training for teachers, assessors and exams officers.
They will also be expected to quality control the qualifications, including running a complaints service, and promote the qualifications through marketing.
IfATE hasn’t yet provided estimates for anticipated learner numbers but said they would be provided in the full invitation to tender and be based on existing volumes.
Just under 2,472 students started one of the engineering and manufacturing T Levels in September 2023, and 1,747 started the management and administration qualification. 548 students started a T Level in the legal and finance route, which includes finance and accounting, but also includes the legal services T Level introduced last year which isn’t yet up for re-tendering.
Interested awarding organisations have also been informed that “when IfATE ceases to exist” its functions as the contracting authority will transfer to a “new organisation.” It’s not clear whether this means Labour’s new quango, Skills England, will take over responsibility for T Level contracts, or whether this will be brought in-house within the Department for Education.
First T Level relicensing winners
This wave-3 relicensing round follows the awarding of Gen-2 contracts for waves 1 and 2 T Levels over the summer.
NCFE was successful in retaining the licence to run the T Level in education and early years. It did not bid to keep two licences for digital T Levels, which went to Pearson.
Similarly, City & Guilds chose not to re-tender for the two construction T Level licences it held. These were awarded to WJEC.
Pearson also retained its licence for T Levels in design, surveying and planning for construction and digital production, development and design.
These Gen-2 contracts were also worth substantially more than generation 1, which is believed to be in response to concern in the sector that the flagship qualifications have not been profitable.
For example, the onsite construction contract increased by 96 per cent to £7.64 million from Gen-1 to Gen-2. Similarly, education and early years rose by 65 per cent and building services engineering for construction was up by 58 per cent.
A separate procurement round took place for the T Levels in health, healthcare science and science, though the results have not yet been released.
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