Bridging gaps to support skills and growth – what next for post-16 qualification reform?

By Freya Thomas Monk, Managing Director of Pearson Qualifications

We are at a pivotal moment for post-16 vocational education - with the government’s welcome pause and review of post-16 qualification reforms, a new industrial strategy and the Curriculum and Assessment Review underway, the sands are shifting.

The government has set out an ambitious industrial strategy focused on key growth areas for the UK economy, including science, health, digital, engineering, and the creative industries. However, a recent National Audit Office report (Supporting the UK’s Priority Industry Sectors) highlights a significant obstacle to achieving the government’s vision: a lack of skilled workers that hinders growth across these sectors.

This is the moment to ensure we are offering our post-16-year-olds the right mix of options that meet the needs of employers and the economy, setting them up for success in the workplace once they finish their studies.

The Curriculum and Assessment Review interim report rightly recognised that other Level 3 qualifications should exist alongside T Levels and A levels to ensure provision meets the needs of all 16–19 learners. We know that, while important, T Levels will not have the capacity to support the demand for talent in high-growth sectors and do not cover the full range of skills needs. The number of learners on T Levels has not grown as originally expected, with the Department for Education cutting its forecast for T Level growth in 2029/30 by 50%. Now, T Levels are expected to serve only around 10% of 16- to 17-year-olds.

We welcomed the government’s pause to the defunding of 47 BTEC qualifications following the rapid review last winter, which recognised the vital role these qualifications play in preparing students for employment and further study. But we must now move beyond simply pausing the reforms. We need a plan that retains and updates existing high-quality qualifications while recognising that A levels and T Levels are not the right fit for all learners.

The ongoing defunding of larger vocational qualifications in key sectors – including BTECs in digital, health and social care, engineering, and creative media – remains a major concern. These qualifications are crucial pathways to both employment and higher education. Removing them before clear, scalable alternatives are in place risks leaving students without viable routes into industries already facing acute skills shortages:

·Take Applied Science, where over 8,000 students take larger vocational qualifications annually across different awarding organisations. Current T Levels serve less than 5% of this demand. The larger BTEC qualifications allow learners to cover areas such as Forensic Science, Genetic Engineering, Biophysics, and Biomedical Sciences, which are not available in T Levels or A levels.

· Similarly, in Digital, T Levels account for just 25% of the over 7,000 learners studying vocational IT and computing qualifications.

· In Health and Social Care T Levels currently serve just over 11% of the 18,500 learners taking larger vocational qualifications in the sector. According to UCAS Admissions 2021 data, 26% of students accepted onto a Nursing degree held a BTEC qualification.

Yet these larger qualifications in all three of these key sectors are due to be defunded in 2026/27 and are out of scope of the Review.

T Levels have been positioned as the flagship technical qualification for post-16 education. We support their development and recognise their value – Pearson holds more T Level contracts than any other awarding organisation and is committed to ensuring as many young people as possible can benefit from them. However, the data clearly shows that T Levels alone are not the answer.

The introduction of revised smaller vocational qualifications, known as Academic Applied Qualifications (AAQs), from September 2025 is an important step in recognising this, offering a balance between academic and vocational study.

But we urge the government to retain funding for larger vocational qualifications in areas where neither A Levels nor T Levels fully meet the needs of students. These qualifications provide crucial pathways to both employment and higher education. Removing them risks leaving students without viable routes into industries already facing acute skills shortages.

Unless action is taken now to ensure the Review team can fully assess what options need to be in place to support all Level 3 learners, the result could lead to critical gaps in provision. These gaps could undermine the UK’s skills pipeline just as the economy faces increasing demand for talent in high-growth sectors. It also risks cutting off progression routes for thousands of young learners at a time when NEETs are a significant concern.

As a nation, we cannot risk young people’s futures – or the talent pipeline that will drive tomorrow’s workforce. To meet the needs of a growing economy, we must act now to protect and enhance vocational pathways that open doors for all learners.