VOCATIONAL STUDIES
new (in fact, they’re probably one of the oldest educational models around), their enthusiastic adoption by many leading organisations certainly is – everyone from accountants to media firms are offering the option to learn on the job. Institutional qualifications have also been evolving to become more employer- friendly. Until now, BTECs were the best choice for those seeking a vocational, hands-on dimension to their studies, assessed on coursework rather than end-of-course, high-stakes exams. For many years the qualification underdog, and rarely featuring on the exams menu at highly academic schools, BTECs had been proving increasingly popular, with about a million students completing them per year. Now though, they’re on the way out. In their place come T-levels. While they’ve been around since 2020, T-levels – each equivalent to three A-levels – have maintained a fairly low profile. But with the government pushing them as the next big thing in assessment and training, and a way of better bridging the gap between
T-level subjects already available relate to building, engineering, healthcare and construction schools and employment, their time has now come. The idea is that A- and T-levels will be the yin and yang of higher education. A-levels will continue as the scholastic option, taken by pupils with an interest in academia. T-levels, however, will be designed as a path to skilled employment.
34 AUTUMN/WINTER 2022
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