Morning, Tuesday, 11th November 2025
Online
This conference will bring stakeholders and policymakers together to examine the future for T Levels in England.
Attendees will consider key issues in light of proposals in the recently published Post-16 education and skills White Paper, including expanding the number of T Level subjects and specialisms within existing subjects on a rolling basis from September 2027, as well as replacing the T Level Foundation Year at Level 2 with two study pathways.
Sessions in the agenda will also examine the Education Committee’s recommendations for urgent reform of T Levels in its Further Education and Skills inquiry, including for the Government to launch a public awareness campaign for T Levels, as well as introducing modular or smaller sized T Levels to allow students to study a blend of academic and technical qualifications.
Improving student understanding, support & retention
Areas for discussion include the way forward for improving awareness and employer involvement, alongside bolstering retention - with 2025 results showing 27% of students leaving their course early indicating continuing concerns surrounding drop-out rates.
Progress in stabilising delivery and strategies to improve completion of placements and how employers can be more involved in curriculum design will be assessed, as well as the long-term role of T Levels in the post-16 system, following the recent announcement that T Level funding will be lagged from 2027.
Priorities for raising awareness of T Levels and the broader technical offer will be discussed, following publication of the National Audit Office’s Introducing T Levels report, and with their purpose and benefits set to be outlined for students at the start of secondary school.
Delegates will also assess approaches to tackling concerns around student completion, as well as disparities in participation across learner groups. Areas for discussion include support for disadvantaged learners and those with SEND, and how regional variations in provision and placement opportunities can be addressed to avoid inequity of access.
Foundation Year, sixth form delivery & the teaching workforce
The design and delivery of alternative study pathways to the T Level Foundation Year will be discussed, including potential implications for learner progression.
The agenda also looks at issues for sixth form colleges and schools in delivering T Levels, including the feasibility of expanding T Level provision into school sixth forms given resource constraints.
Further sessions focus on support for the T Level teaching workforce, including retention of teachers with current industry expertise, and access to professional development.
Employer engagement, flexibility & adapting to changing needs
Building relationships with employers will be discussed, looking at how they can be broadened, as well as ways to promote employer understanding of the benefits to involvement in T Levels.
Delegates will examine issues raised by providers and employer groups about funding consistency and variation in regional capacity to deliver placements. Sessions will look at how quality assurance of placements can be maintained as flexibility increases through simulated and remote placements, as well as approaches to closer aligning with Local Skills Improvement Plans and sector-led workforce priorities.
Further sessions will look at potential implications for providers and employers in the face of evolving sector demands, particularly for priority sectors in the 2025 Industrial Strategy. Discussion will also look at how T Levels can adapt to the pace of technological change, ensuring that qualification design remains agile and responsive to new industrial standards.
Overview of areas for discussion
- student retention: targeted support packages - mentoring - tailored curriculum design - partnerships with schools to prepare learners for T Levels
- raising awareness: improving learner recruitment - effectiveness of awareness campaigns reaching students, parents and teachers
- supporting disadvantaged learners: inclusion for pupils with SEND - regional variations in provision - inequity of access - integration of transport bursaries, financial support, and pastoral care with local services
- employer engagement: inclusion of SMEs - benefits beyond workforce supply - alignment with LSIPs and sector priorities
- placement quality and flexibility: clarity on quality assurance - parity with on-site experience - increasing capacity in local hosts - impact on recruitment and retention in rural areas
- funding: breadth of choice - alignment with skills needs - higher cost of technical and specialist subjects - demographic change and demand for provision - impact of the decision to lag funding from 2027
- sixth form delivery: staffing, specialist teaching and equipment demands - partnerships to access facilities - regional collaboration between schools, FE and employers to expand provision whilst avoiding duplication
- teaching workforce: retention of teachers with industry expertise - access to professional development - pipeline for new teachers - incentives or structural reforms for high-demand subjects
- alternatives to the Foundation Year: role in progression and pathways - reform options to strengthen student readiness for technical study
- priority sectors: curriculum content - alignment of provision with engineering, clean energy, manufacturing and digital - employer engagement - placement design and delivery
- responding to change: agility in qualification design - role of sector bodies and local skills improvement plans in curriculum development
All delegates will be able to contribute to the output of the conference, which will be shared with parliamentary, ministerial, departmental and regulatory offices, and more widely. This includes the full proceedings and additional articles submitted by delegates.
