“We fully support the government’s ambition and commitment to raising the status of technical and vocational education. The FE White Paper published today sets out some welcome major changes to the sector, such as The Lifetime Skills guarantee - against a backdrop of rapid change, lifelong learning will be crucial in supporting both social and economic prosperity.

"However, while the sector needs to flex and adapt, we should be mindful of disrupting or damaging what works well within our existing system – in particular the broad range of high quality and valuable qualifications which have supported access and progress for a diverse group of learners over a number of years. Post-16, 40% of students take A levels, while 60% pursue a vocational or work-based pathway. We need to maintain the choice for this group between the early specialisation that T levels offer, and broader, career-focused qualifications such as BTEC.”

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BTECs provide up-to-date industry knowledge, skills and behaviours which open doors to a range of careers as well as access higher education and most importantly equips them with skills that are transferable in a changing world.

Read more about BTEC