The Government must pause its shake-up of post-16 qualifications or risk worsening the UK’s skills shortages, MPs have warned, as campaigners branded its proposed reforms “misguided” and “reckless”.
Plans to withdraw funding from tried and tested applied general qualifications (AGQs) before there is time to assess the rollout of new T-levels could end up narrowing student choice, the Education Committee said.
Concerns have been raised over T-levels since they were first introduced in 2019 as technical alternatives to A-levels, according to the group of cross-party MPs.
These include unequal regional access to industry placements and an apparent decline in employer interest in offering placements, according to a report published on Friday.
T-levels will not succeed without significant “industry buy-in”, the committee warned.
Ministers are being urged to place a moratorium on the defunding of AGQs until there is “robust evidence” that T-levels are effective at helping students progress, promoting social mobility and meeting industry needs.
