The future of post-16 level 2 and below vocational qualifications in England

The reforms will affect level 2 and below qualifications taken by 16–19-year-olds, and 19+ year-olds funded under the Adult Education Budget, the European Social Fund (ESF) on level 2 and below qualifications.

• The proposal divides level 2 and below qualifications into 17 groups according to their primary purpose.
• The first wave of new qualifications will commence September 2025 (groups 2, 3 and 4 construction, education and childcare, engineering and manufacturing, and health and science, all other level 2 qualifications (excluding ESOL and PSE) for September 2026 or 2027, all ESOL, PSE, level 1and entry level in groups 9 – 17 for September 2027 and September 2028.  
• DfE will seek to approve and defund qualifications in line with the above timetable.
• Level 2 qualifications should prepare students for further study or training at a higher level where possible, including technical qualifications and apprenticeships. They will also lead directly to employment in some routes. 
• Every level 2 qualification in scope for funding should be high-quality, necessary, have a clear and distinct purpose and have clear progression routes. 
• All technical provision, including work-based study such as apprenticeships and classroom-based study, will fit within a single framework built from employer-led occupational standards. 

Occupational Entry qualifications – Group 2

• Technical qualifications providing contextual understanding of a route, transferable skills and occupationally-specific knowledge, skills and behaviours  

Occupational Entry qualifications – Group 3

• Technical qualifications which provide the knowledge, skills and behaviours a student needs to progress to skilled employment at level 2

Additional Specialist qualifications – Group 4

• Technical qualifications which support individuals to develop specialist knowledge and skills beyond an employer-led occupational standard

Cross-Cutting functions – Group 5

• Technical qualifications which support employability by developing skills that are relevant across a number of different occupational standards

Employer-proposed qualifications – Group 6

• Technical qualifications leading to recognised occupations where there is clear demand from employers, but no occupational standard exists

Progression to higher levels of study – Group 1

• Qualifications supporting progression to level 3 technical study
• Technical qualifications supporting to progression to level 3 technical programmes (e.g T Levels)

Qualifications supporting progression to level 3 academic study – Group 7

• Qualifications providing introductory content to a subject area where GCSEs do not provide preparation for level 3

Reforms to qualifications at level 2 and below will be phased in over a 4 year period. The first reformed qualifications will be available for teaching from September 2025, with further qualifications being approved for teaching from 2026, 2027 and 2028.

Please be reassured that you can continue to teach your Level 2 BTECs with confidence in 2023/24. First introduction of new, reformed technical qualifications for 16-19 year olds and adults will be 2025

We will update you as we know more about the removal of funding for qualifications, and new qualifications in development.

These pages will be updated with further details as soon as we have them. Do bookmark this page to keep up to date with developments.