BESA welcomes T Level technical qualification
BESA (Building Engineering Services Association) has responded enthusiastically to a major boost for vocational training announced by the Chancellor Philip Hammond in his recent Budget. He announced £500 million to develop new ‘T Levels’ in 15 vocational categories, including engineering and construction. T Levels are designed to give technical subjects equal status alongside A Levels so that students pursuing a vocational route are not disadvantaged in the eyes of potential employees or dissuaded from taking a non-academic path by their parents.
Tony Howard, BESA’s training director welcomed the move and said it would help to underpin the work the association is doing to help building-engineering employers address skills shortages by developing a range of new Trailblazer apprenticeships in England while also driving forward training standards in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
T Levels are to be developed between now and 2012.
The Chancellor sees backing vocational training as crucial to tackling the UK’s poor productivity, which in turn would support the development of a more prosperous and inclusive society. He said, ‘High-productivity jobs are high-wage jobs,’ adding that to grow its economy the UK needed to compete with the world ‘on the basis of superior talent and skills, not just lower costs’.
According to BESA, every £1 of taxpayers money invested in apprenticeships at levels 2 and 3 pays back £26 to £28 in long-term economic benefits and 83% of apprentices believe their career prospects have improved as a result of securing a place on an apprenticeship scheme.
