A Labour government will review functional skills requirements in apprenticeships, the shadow skills minister has said.
However, the party won’t commit to reversing the government’s removal of funding from level 3 qualifications, like BTECs, that overlap with T Levels.
Department for Education rules state that apprentices without a GCSE grade 4 or above in English and/or maths must reach that level 2 standard to achieve their apprenticeship.
Training providers have long complained that the generic curriculum, exam-based assessment and poor funding of the English and maths functional skills courses contribute to the low achievement rate of apprenticeships.
