City & Guilds awarded contract to deliver Construction #TLevel qualifications

City & Guilds, the established leader in skills development, has been awarded the contract to deliver two T Level qualifications under the Construction route: in Building Services Engineering and On-Site Construction. These qualifications will be available for delivery by eligible providers from September 2021.

City & Guilds, working in partnership with EAL, was selected by the Department for Education (DfE) and Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) following a highly competitive bidding process. EAL will be supporting the development and delivery of the qualifications.

The Construction: Building Services Engineering and On-Site Construction qualifications will form part of the second wave of T Levels, which go live in 2021. The introduction of T levels forms a major shift in the provision of technical education for students post 16, offering an alternative to A Levels and apprenticeships.

Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Managing Director, City & Guilds Group, said:

“The construction sector has been at the heart of City & Guilds since it was founded over 140 years ago and so we are delighted to have been awarded the contract to deliver Construction T Levels. As the leading sector specialists, we are ideally placed to develop these qualifications and we are very excited to be part of this new direction for technical education. We are especially pleased to have won this bid in collaboration with EAL, a second successful partnership after we were jointly awarded the contract to develop Construction and Built Environment qualifications for Wales back in July.

“City & Guilds was originally founded because there was a critical need to train the nation at the time of the second Industrial Revolution. Today, with the UK facing growing skills gaps, the same need exists – and T Levels present an unparalleled opportunity to provide young people with the technical knowledge, skills and behaviours that employers are demanding.

“This a landmark moment within UK education and we look forward to being at the forefront of this new era. Alongside the Government, employers and training providers we will work to create a world-class skills system that will not only secure our talent pipelines, but guarantee the UK’s prosperity for the decades to come.”

Alison Parkes, Managing Director of EAL, added:

“We are delighted to have been awarded the Construction T Levels in partnership with City & Guilds. Bringing our understanding and expertise in Building Services Engineering and as the leading specialist awarding organisation in engineering we are immensely proud to be a part of the reshaping of the skills landscape for the Construction route: in Building Services Engineering and On-Site Construction.

 “We are especially proud to have been chosen as an organisation who can be trusted to deliver this seismic reform. Helping enable and bring to life the Department for Education (DfE) and Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education (IfATE) T Level ambition. We are looking forward to working with key stakeholders within these crucial industries over the coming months and years. From Government to employers, we will lead the charge on creating the best solutions for skills development.

“The sectors that these T Levels are servicing are the backbone of the country’s economy and we recognise the important part we will play in the development of skills on behalf of these industries, as well as the career journey to those who embark on a vocation within the sector”.

The first T Levels will be rolled out to students from September 2020. Aimed primarily at 16-18-year-old learners, the new qualifications are designed to offer a path for learners wishing to enter skilled professions. All T Level courses – which will provide learners with the equivalent of 3 A Levels – have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses to ensure they meet the needs of the industry and prepare learners for the workplace.