The government has announced the first of its new T-level courses, representing a significant change in the way technical education is delivered by UK schools.
Digital, Construction, and Education and Childcare courses will be taught from 2020, with these qualifications to incorporate content developed by industry professionals from leading businesses.
Each route will group together a number of related occupations requiring common knowledge, skills and behaviours, which are then broken down further into a number of specialisms clustered together to give students a clear path to the occupation of their choice.
All T level programmes will also include a work placement opportunity that allows pupils to apply their learning in a real workplace environment. The qualifications are equivalent to A-levels and will give school students an option to pursue a different, more practically-oriented educational pathway after GCSE.
The T-level scheme was first announced in 2016, with £500 million in additional funding to be allocated on an annual basis. A full set of T-levels is set to introduced by 2022.
Organisations that have developed to develop the T-level course content include EDF, Rolls Royce, Fujitsu, Lloyds, Morgan Sindall, Skanska and Morphy Richards, with the contributions of these businesses helping to ensure that students are able to acquire the skills that are likely to be most relevant in the modern workplace.
Education secretary Justine Greening said: "As we prepare to leave the EU, it is more important than ever that we create an outstanding further education and skills system, giving all young people the opportunity to fulfil their potential and deliver a better future for our country."
These new courses are being introduced in response to a 2016 independent report on technical education showing that the existing system is too complex and includes too many qualifications that do not necessarily provide young people with the skills needed to excel at work.