Baker Dearing on V Levels and the future success of T Levels

The latest edition of The Blueprint featured an exclusive article from the Chief Executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust Kate Ambrosi on the government’s announcement of new V Levels and the recent publication of the post-16 education and skills white paper. The article is copied in full below.

The white paper, published on 20 October, revealed the Department for Education’s plans to simplify the vast landscape of Level 3 vocational qualifications by introducing the V Level. This new qualification, set to roll-out in 2027, will sit alongside the technical T Level and academic A Level qualifications.

The white paper praised T Levels, introduced in 2020, for “already demonstrating their value,” citing how seventy-one per cent of T Level students go on to work or study in the general field of their qualification after completion, compared to 61 per cent of comparable level 3 technical learners on equivalent routes.

The white paper announced that the government would continue introducing new T Levels and spend £2 million to increase the number of engineering T Levels offered, to mitigate skills shortages in related industries.

The government’s ambition for a simple and effective set of 16-18 pathways is evident from the white paper. But how can T Levels continue to be successful? Will V Levels work as a less rigorous, more general vocational option?

In her article, Kate sets out how T Levels can help more young people and how providing technical education at pre-16 will help students make the right choice for post-16.

T Levels and V Levels can thrive with continued government support

Kate Ambrosi, Chief Executive Officer, Baker Dearing Educational Trust

Over the past week, there has been extensive discussion about the post-16 education and skills white paper, and we wanted to share the perspective of the country’s most successful technical high schools: University Technical Colleges (UTCs).

UTCs have navigated their way through the ambitions of many white papers, delivering an employer-guided blended academic and technical curriculum to meet the needs of young people and of industry. With student leaver destinations and T Level outcomes the envy of many, UTC reflections on this white paper come with hard-earned credibility.

It is with this track record that we make the following points.

Firstly, T Levels are working for many of our students, staff, and employer partners. UTC student retention rates, pass rates, and progression rates into high-quality apprenticeships are significantly above national averages. They are in areas of the economy with acute skills shortages, such as engineering and health, and are aligned with the industrial strategy.

However, to ensure this success continues and many young people can access these much-needed qualifications, government must commit to the continuation of specialist equipment and capital grants to deliver them. T Levels are the right qualification for many young people, and, as we have seen with UTCs, given time and government support, they will thrive. While the white paper gives some coverage and makes certain promises about T Levels we are concerned that the funding needed is crowded out by other new initiatives.

Secondly, it is encouraging to see government place tackling NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training) at the centre of the strategy. Ensuring young people progress to positive destinations is the main mission of UTCs.  In fact, half of all UTCs have zero young people leave and become NEET, and nationally, UTC leaver destinations outperform the national averages. Our students do not just stay in education or training – they thrive in it, with clear routes into skilled employment, apprenticeships and higher education.

That success is not an accident. UTCs are built around partnerships with employers and universities, ensuring that young people learn the technical skills local economies actually need. The white paper’s emphasis on “employer-focused” systems and “sector-based pathways” reflects what UTCs have been doing for 15 years.

Thirdly, the introduction of V Levels could help to simplify the qualifications landscape and provide young people with greater clarity on post-16 options and pathways into excellent careers. However, this will only happen if the ambitions for the pre-16 curriculum match. UTCs, by providing technical education at pre-16 ensure that our students are well-informed to make the right decisions at post-16. How is a young person to know that qualifications in, say, engineering at post-16 are right for them if they have been fed a purely academic diet beforehand?

So, government must recognise that technical excellence does not begin at 16. If we are to build a genuinely skilled nation, we need to start earlier by encouraging secondary students to pursue careers in key sectors such as engineering, digital, green technologies, and healthcare.

Finally, good ideas and ambitious white papers are the right starting point. However, excellent implementation is the critical piece of the jigsaw. At the heart of the UTC success story is the recruitment and retention of the best technical teaching staff. This must be mirrored across the rest of the post-16 landscape for this white paper to meet its ambitions. We would have liked to see bolder and more novel initiatives for sourcing much-needed teaching staff with the right technical specialisms.

In summary, the blueprint for success for this ambitious white paper already exists and is already happening in UTCs across the country. Young people are thriving, employers are engaged, and skills gaps are closing. If government wants to turn the white paper’s words into real-world impact, it must back technical education with sustained investment, particularly in T Levels, trust in proven practice, and the ambition to start earlier. The future workforce is waiting — let’s not keep them waiting too long.

Baker Dearing on V Levels and the future success of T Levels

The latest edition of The Blueprint featured an exclusive article from the Chief Executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust Kate Ambrosi on the government’s announcement of new V Levels and the recent publication of the post-16 education and skills white paper. The article is copied in full below.

The white paper, published on 20 October, revealed the Department for Education’s plans to simplify the vast landscape of Level 3 vocational qualifications by introducing the V Level. This new qualification, set to roll-out in 2027, will sit alongside the technical T Level and academic A Level qualifications.

The white paper praised T Levels, introduced in 2020, for “already demonstrating their value,” citing how seventy-one per cent of T Level students go on to work or study in the general field of their qualification after completion, compared to 61 per cent of comparable level 3 technical learners on equivalent routes.

The white paper announced that the government would continue introducing new T Levels and spend £2 million to increase the number of engineering T Levels offered, to mitigate skills shortages in related industries.

The government’s ambition for a simple and effective set of 16-18 pathways is evident from the white paper. But how can T Levels continue to be successful? Will V Levels work as a less rigorous, more general vocational option?

In her article, Kate sets out how T Levels can help more young people and how providing technical education at pre-16 will help students make the right choice for post-16.

T Levels and V Levels can thrive with continued government support

Kate Ambrosi, Chief Executive Officer, Baker Dearing Educational Trust

Over the past week, there has been extensive discussion about the post-16 education and skills white paper, and we wanted to share the perspective of the country’s most successful technical high schools: University Technical Colleges (UTCs).

UTCs have navigated their way through the ambitions of many white papers, delivering an employer-guided blended academic and technical curriculum to meet the needs of young people and of industry. With student leaver destinations and T Level outcomes the envy of many, UTC reflections on this white paper come with hard-earned credibility.

It is with this track record that we make the following points.

Firstly, T Levels are working for many of our students, staff, and employer partners. UTC student retention rates, pass rates, and progression rates into high-quality apprenticeships are significantly above national averages. They are in areas of the economy with acute skills shortages, such as engineering and health, and are aligned with the industrial strategy.

However, to ensure this success continues and many young people can access these much-needed qualifications, government must commit to the continuation of specialist equipment and capital grants to deliver them. T Levels are the right qualification for many young people, and, as we have seen with UTCs, given time and government support, they will thrive. While the white paper gives some coverage and makes certain promises about T Levels we are concerned that the funding needed is crowded out by other new initiatives.

Secondly, it is encouraging to see government place tackling NEETs (young people not in education, employment or training) at the centre of the strategy. Ensuring young people progress to positive destinations is the main mission of UTCs.  In fact, half of all UTCs have zero young people leave and become NEET, and nationally, UTC leaver destinations outperform the national averages. Our students do not just stay in education or training – they thrive in it, with clear routes into skilled employment, apprenticeships and higher education.

That success is not an accident. UTCs are built around partnerships with employers and universities, ensuring that young people learn the technical skills local economies actually need. The white paper’s emphasis on “employer-focused” systems and “sector-based pathways” reflects what UTCs have been doing for 15 years.

Thirdly, the introduction of V Levels could help to simplify the qualifications landscape and provide young people with greater clarity on post-16 options and pathways into excellent careers. However, this will only happen if the ambitions for the pre-16 curriculum match. UTCs, by providing technical education at pre-16 ensure that our students are well-informed to make the right decisions at post-16. How is a young person to know that qualifications in, say, engineering at post-16 are right for them if they have been fed a purely academic diet beforehand?

So, government must recognise that technical excellence does not begin at 16. If we are to build a genuinely skilled nation, we need to start earlier by encouraging secondary students to pursue careers in key sectors such as engineering, digital, green technologies, and healthcare.

Finally, good ideas and ambitious white papers are the right starting point. However, excellent implementation is the critical piece of the jigsaw. At the heart of the UTC success story is the recruitment and retention of the best technical teaching staff. This must be mirrored across the rest of the post-16 landscape for this white paper to meet its ambitions. We would have liked to see bolder and more novel initiatives for sourcing much-needed teaching staff with the right technical specialisms.

In summary, the blueprint for success for this ambitious white paper already exists and is already happening in UTCs across the country. Young people are thriving, employers are engaged, and skills gaps are closing. If government wants to turn the white paper’s words into real-world impact, it must back technical education with sustained investment, particularly in T Levels, trust in proven practice, and the ambition to start earlier. The future workforce is waiting — let’s not keep them waiting too long.

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