T Level uptake must rise to address skills gap, MPs warn

The government must do more to boost student enrolment in T Levels or risk the technical qualification remaining a “minority pursuit”, MPs have warned.

It comes as a new report from Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) urges the Department for Education (DfE) to address the “significant challenges” facing the two-year courses, introduced to plug skills gaps in the economy. 

T Levels include a compulsory industry placement and are intended as an alternative to A Levels.

The DfE aims to increase T Level enrolment to 66,100 by September 2029, up from 25,508 in 2024. However, this target remains well below its original ambition due to low awareness, with only half of pupils in years 9 to 11 – and just one in three employers – aware of the qualification in 2023.

The PAC also raised concerns over under-representation of disadvantaged groups. Fewer women and students from poorer backgrounds take courses such as engineering, while young people with special educational needs are less likely to choose T Levels over other vocational routes.

The report calls on the DfE to publish a plan to improve awareness and explain how T Levels can better appeal to a diverse student body, while remaining aligned with employers’ needs. It also recommends streamlining the process for revising course content, which currently takes up to 18 months. 

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said: “T Levels have the potential to be a significant force for good, but without the wider awareness in industry and critical mass of student enrolments, T Levels may remain very much a minority pursuit.

“The government must enter campaign mode to inject life into T Levels, focusing in and capitalising on local employment needs.”

There is further criticism of the government’s handling of the broader qualifications landscape. The report said students, teachers and colleges were unclear how T Levels fit alongside other options, following the government’s decision in December 2024 to extend funding for some overlapping qualifications until 2027.

Sarah Hannafin, head of policy at the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), added: “The future success of T levels depends on much more than raising awareness. Initial feedback from the sector is that these qualifications are not landing well, take-up is lower than expected, and they are not meeting the needs of students as effectively as other Vocational Technical Qualification (VTQs).

“The quality of industry placements varies depending on the T Level course and provider, and students’ ability to find suitable placements depends on several factors including the location, sector and competition for places – this needs to be addressed. It will require significant work to overcome these issues, but even with those improvements T levels will remain just one option in the VTQ landscape because they simply don’t meet the needs of large numbers of students.”