The government has delayed four of its flagship T-levels, which had been due to roll out in England from September.
Technical qualifications in areas such as hair and beauty are among those that had been planned for the coming academic year.
But the Department for Education (DfE) said more work was needed to ensure they were of sufficient quality.
The Association of Colleges (AoC) welcomed that decision but said the news had caused "massive disruption".
The first students to take T-levels received their results last year - with a 92% pass rate.
