Vocational and other qualifications quarterly: October to December 2021

Quarter 4 2021 (October to December) followed the removal of many COVID-19 restrictions in England. Adapted vocational and other qualifications continued to be permitted, in line with our regulatory arrangements (please see the background notes for more information). The trends seen in this quarter may have been affected as a result.

The number of certificates awarded in 2021 quarter 4 was 780,220, a 3% decrease from quarter 4 of 2020. Despite this, the total number of certificates issued in 2021 (4,580,435) has increased relative to the number certificates issued in 2020 (4,101,390). This increase, however, is still below pre-pandemic levels, with over a million fewer certificates issued across the whole of 2021 than for all of 2019 (5,652,605).

Quarter 4 2021 saw a significant increase compared to quarter 4 2020 in the number of certificates awarded for Other Vocational qualifications (from 82,820 certificates in quarter 4 2020 to 136,255 certificates in quarter 4 2021, an increase of 65%). Most other qualification types, however, saw decreases this quarter compared to quarter 4 of 2020. The largest decrease was for Occupational Qualifications (from 141,845 certificates in quarter 4 2020 to 112,020 certificates in quarter 4 2021; a decrease of 21%).

There were decreases in the number of certificates awarded for most qualification levels between quarter 4 of 2020 and quarter 4 of 2021, with the largest decrease in numbers being for Level 2 qualifications (from 292,420 certificates in quarter 4 of 2020 to 261,095 certificates in quarter 4 of 2021, a fall of 11%). The only notable increases in certificate numbers in this time period were for Level 3 (from 220,035 to 246,000 certificates, an increase of 12%) and Level 7 qualifications (from 1,390 to 4,660 certificates, an increase of 235%).

Quarter 4 of 2021 saw decreases in the number of certificates awarded for most sector subject areas. The largest decrease in certificates from quarter 4 of 2020 was seen for Business, Administration and Law, dropping from 68,905 certificates to 51,100 in quarter 4 of 2021, a decrease of 26%. The largest increase was seen for Health, Public Services and Care, which saw an increase from 208,970 certificates in quarter 4 of 2020 to 258,655 certificates in quarter 4 of 2021 (an increase of 24%).

The 2 qualifications with the highest number of certificates awarded in quarter 4 2021 were the QA Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF), followed by FAA’s Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work. TCL’s Entry Level Certificate in ESOL International Speaking and Listening, which had the highest number of certificates awarded in quarter 4 of 2020, had the third highest number of certificates issued this quarter.

The awarding organisation with the highest number of certificates issued in this quarter was City and Guilds, followed by Highfield, then QA. In quarter 4 2021, City and Guilds saw a 6% decrease in the number of certificates awarded compared to quarter 4 2020 (down from 92,450 to 86,780). Highfield and QA saw increases of 32% (from 50,945 to 67,355) and 44% (from 40,760 to 58,605) in the number of certificates issued compared to quarter 4 2020, respectively.

The top 3 awarding organisations in terms of certificates issued in 2021 did not change in their rank order from 2020. In both years, Pearson had the highest number of certificates issued, followed by City and Guilds and NCFE.