Read the Post 16 Privacy Notice on our Privacy page.

Technical Qualifications (TQs) are intended to deliver the skills needed to enter or progress in the workplace. These can be delivered in a classroom environment, but some will also consist of workplace learning and assessment. The ‘qualification’ covers the required teaching and assessment content. It is owned and developed by the awarding organisation (AO). AOs create and manage qualifications; they define what needs to be taught and how it should be assessed. A range of providers deliver these qualifications, with AOs quality assuring and awarding certification.

The most basic level of training is level 1. Level 2 is one step up from that and is the equivalent to GCSE. Level 3 is a further step up from level 2 and equivalent to skills-focused T Levels or academic A Levels.

TQs and apprenticeships are available to train people for occupations across the economy from level 2 up to degree and post-graduate level (6 to 7).  

 

1. Purpose of reforms 

The reforms’ core aim is to ensure that, by 2030, all TQs are built around occupational standards. These standards are approved by The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). A qualification will only be approved if it relates to an existing occupational standard.

The Government has consulted widely on level 3 and level 2 qualifications. Feedback confirmed that reform is needed because:

  • employers struggle to understand and engage with the system
  • there is too much choice, and it is hard to know which qualifications meet employers’ needs
  • there are currently around 3,500 TQs at level 3 and frustration over the differences in quality
  • there is a lack of scrutiny by industry to make sure that training meets the needs of the marketplace

In 2022 we launched a new employer-led process for approving level 3 and level 2 TQs. This will ensure that all TQs deliver on employers’ skills needs by:

  • applying our statutory tests (provided through the Skills and Post-16 Education Act 2022) to make sure content and assessment meets employers’ needs
  • ensuring the system is coherent, rigorous, and streamlined to maximise quality and minimise bureaucracy

Our new process will ensure that the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) that students learn are useful to employers. Students can be confident that they are learning the right skills for successful careers. 

Occupational standards set out the KSBs that students must learn to be competent in their jobs. We have already supported groups of employers to develop occupational standards for apprenticeships, T Levels, and Higher Technical Qualifications. As set out in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper, they will now guide level 3 and level 2 TQ approvals. This will create a simpler skills system in which employers and students can have full confidence.

The employer-developed occupational standards are shown on our occupational maps. These maps are a useful tool for providers and learners in the delivery of Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG). They bring together essential information about:

  • what someone in the occupation does
  • average salary
  • expected duties
  • the KSBs required to achieve occupational competence
  • progression opportunities 

AOs must align their qualifications to the occupational standards. Providers can use the occupational maps to better understand the types of qualifications that may be submitted for approval.

 

IfATE’s Role

We lead on the approvals process and approve qualifications that meet our criteria.

Our approvals process is built around our employer demand test. Put simply, ‘is there likely to be demand from employers for a student who has achieved the submitted technical qualification’? To meet this criterion, AOs must: 

  • prove that they have properly engaged with large and small businesses  
  • provide convincing evidence of direct employer engagement activities and targeted research
  • ensure alignment of level 3 and level 2 TQs to employer-led occupational standards 

The employer voice is an essential part of this process, helping to ensure high quality qualifications. 

 

We work closely with the Department for Education (DfE) and Ofqual as part of the approvals process.  We share information provided by AOs as part of their submission with DfE and Ofqual.  

Any queries in relation to the approvals process should be sent to the Post-16 team.  

 

DfE’s Role

DfE has overall responsibility for funding decisions.

They consider our approved qualifications against their funding approval criteria. AOs should ensure that they are familiar with DfE’s funding requirements set out in their Qualifications funding approval manual.  

Any funding queries relating to level 3 and level 2 TQs should be sent to qualifications.approval@education.gov.uk.

 

Ofqual’s Role

Ofqual-regulated qualifications and AOs must comply with the General Conditions of Recognition and relevant level conditions.  

AOs must be approved by Ofqual to offer qualifications in the relevant Sector Subject Area(s). AOs intending to submit qualifications that are outside of their scope of recognition, must contact Ofqual before they submit their qualifications to our approvals process. 

As part of the application process, Ofqual may inform us of any ongoing or impending regulatory action. When making approval decisions we will consider this and any other relevant information.

Any queries related to Ofqual requirements should be sent to strategic.relationships@ofqual.gov.uk.

AOs will only be required to submit one set of documents for approval to us and Ofqual.

We will not charge fees for submissions for approval in submission cycles set out in the consultation.