Recommendation 27

The Department told us it recognises the additional burden of T Levels on colleges. It had sought to address this, and help colleges transition to T Levels from other level 3 programmes, by providing a 10% funding uplift in 2023/24 and 2024/25. This reduced to a 5% funding uplift for 2025/26.81 The Department explained that colleges received a higher uplift in the earlier stages of the roll-out when T Levels were newer.82 It also told us it had introduced a retention incentive scheme for teachers training in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and priority subjects, awarding £6,000 annually after tax; offered bursaries to support teachers of STEM subjects; and is trialling a teacher exchange programme with industries. Despite these initiatives, it recognised there was more to do to attract teachers into the further education sector more widely.83 Written evidence from the Education and Training Foundation, Association of School and College Leaders and Edge Foundation pointed to the ongoing recruitment and retention issues within the further education sector, specifically in the construction, engineering and digital industries.84 We pressed the Department on the demands of T Levels compared to other level 3 qualifications. It told us that, with an average of 660 to 840 hours per year, T Levels required more study time than an average level 3 course (640 hours) but less than international comparators, including Canada (935 hours), Denmark (1,000 hours) and Italy (890–1,155 hours).85