The Recurrence of Reform in English Vocational Education: The case of T levels

T Levels are two-year full-time vocational qualifications (International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) level 3) for 16–19-year olds introduced in England in 2020. The government's aim is eventually to have 24 T Levels, each one corresponding with a specific occupational area and comprising 80% classroom-based study and 20% work placement. T Levels are the latest significant policy intervention into England's vocational education sector, which governments have repeatedly tasked with improving the country's economic competitiveness through enhancing skills, as well as addressing social inequality. The government's recourse to employers’ perceived needs in the rationale for and then the development of T-level qualifications is characteristic of policy for vocational education. Since 2010 and before, English vocational education has persistently experienced policy churn, low status compared to academic educational pathways, and short-lived qualifications. This chapter examines the introduction of T Levels and their reception by colleges, employers and wider society to better understand the failure of policy to reform English vocational education. Despite the churn of policy, vocational education remains fundamentally as it has done in England for decades, for better and for worse.