Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Technical Qualifications: Strengthening their Value

Monday 31 January 2022 · 4 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Karen Buck asked about the number of students studying BTECs and T-levels in 2021-22, with the response indicating that nearly 5,500 new students started T-levels in September 2021, more than four times the number in 2020.
  • Simon Baynes congratulated his constituent Adele Hughes for winning a bronze medal at the WorldSkills UK Competition, and the Minister agreed that her achievement demonstrates the value of technical qualifications.
  • Karen Buck expressed concerns about changes to BTECs, noting that more than a quarter of a million students are studying them, with the Government responding that they are creating world-class gold-standard qualifications for students.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Karen Buck Lab
Education
Context

The question seeks specific figures on the number of students studying BTECs and T-levels in a recent academic year, focusing on reform efforts in technical education.

Question

What estimate he has made of the number of students studying for (a) BTECs and (b) T-levels in the 2021-22 academic year?

Answer from Alex Burghart

We are reforming technical education to support progression and meet employer needs. Our initial figures show that nearly 5,500 new students started T-levels in September last year, more than four times the number who started in 2020. We do not routinely publish take-up data on individual qualifications such as Pearson BTECs, but we will publish in June the number of students who were studying for applied general qualifications at the end of 2021.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific numbers for BTEC students are not provided; only a commitment to release data later is given.

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Q2 Simon Baynes
Education Employment
Context

The question seeks to congratulate a constituent on an achievement in the WorldSkills UK Competition, highlighting the value of technical qualifications and apprenticeships.

Question

Will the Minister join me in congratulating my constituent Adele Hughes, who is working as an apprentice with Raytheon Technologies, on being awarded a bronze medal at the recent WorldSkills UK Competition, and does he agree that Adele's remarkable achievement demonstrates the value of technical qualifications and apprenticeships?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I am delighted to extend the Department's congratulations to Adele. What we are seeing through our apprenticeships programme at the moment is the study and achievement of world-class skills in England. That is why I hope my hon. Friend, and all other hon. Members, will join me next week in celebrating National Apprenticeships Week.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister congratulates Adele but does not explicitly affirm the value of technical qualifications beyond a general statement about skills.

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Q3 Karen Buck Lab
Education
Context

The question addresses concerns about the reduction in opportunities for students studying vocational qualifications, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Question

More than a quarter of a million students are studying BTECs, but the Government are rushing ahead with a set of changes about which parents and schools and colleges are very concerned, especially as BTECs are taken up disproportionately by the most disadvantaged families in the most disadvantaged communities. One of the issues that have been raised with me is the limited number of opportunities and qualifications that will be available under T-levels, in comparison with BTECs. Can the Minister explain how a levelling-up agenda is being advanced by a reduction in the range of opportunities available to such students?

Answer from Alex Burghart

It was a central finding of the Sainsbury review, led by a Labour peer, that the vocational qualifications system should be simplified. What we are doing is creating world-class gold-standard qualifications that will give students meaningful work placements that will enable them to acquire qualifications designed by employers to give them the skills that the economy needs.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The Minister does not directly address how reducing opportunities aligns with levelling-up but instead focuses on simplifying the system and creating gold-standard qualifications.

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Q4 Richard Holden Con Basildon and Billericay
Employment
Context

The question invites the Minister to attend an apprenticeships fair aimed at supporting young people looking for an alternative route into work.

Question

Apprenticeships and technical qualifications are extremely important to my constituents. Following the success of my jobs fair last year, I am organising an apprenticeships fair on 11 February this year. Will the Minister agree to open the fair, or to come along at some point during the day and support those young people in my constituency who are looking for an alternative route into work?

Answer from Alex Burghart

I will see my hon. Friend there.

Answered
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