Call for Sector Leaders to Contribute to Pioneering New ‘Craft and Design’ T Level

Innovative new T Levels (the technical equivalent of A Levels) have recently been announced in creative and design. These include a specific T Level pathway for craft and design, which will be available to learners from September 2023 onwards. The T Level will give students a route into a variety of careers, from jewellery and ceramics to textiles and fashion creatives to furniture restoration, as well as into higher education.

These are flagship Government-led qualifications, unique in their blend of high-quality classroom learning with on-the-job experience. They’re also unique in the way they are developed, hand in hand with employers.

NCFE are already working closely with a huge number of employers, household names, and specialists who will lend their expertise to shape the future of training in their industries. From formulating the courses to reviewing qualification detail and assessments, NCFE is involving the experts every step of the way to ensure qualifications are suitable for the sectors they support, and will support learners to be engaged and equipped with the skills they need. 

Craft and Design T Levels will be two years long, and after completion students will have the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviours to successfully progress into work or higher-level study. One T Level is equivalent to 3 A Levels and gives corresponding UCAS points, so supports students into university if that’s what they’re interested in.

Meanwhile, all T Levels include a substantial industry placement to support progression into skilled work. Learners will also gain knowledge in a broad range of sector-related issues, including the creative economy, research skills and project methodology, to name just a few. Alongside the core content, students complete at least one module of job-specific content which will allow them insight into that particular role.

Although this is the first-of-its-kind qualification in the craft and design space, T Levels are very much underway across other industries and have already become popular with learners. The first cohort of T Level students will be finishing their courses this summer, with a world of options available to them in terms of what they choose to do next. With 119 universities now accepting T Level pathways, currently nearly 500 T Level students have a live university application – a figure UCAS expects to rise through the remainder of the cycle.

From our experience, present students have been incredibly enthusiastic about their experiences, stating that they would thoroughly recommend T Levels to other learners and praising the practical skills and valuable workplace experience that they’ve gained from them. Students have found the industry placements particularly beneficial, because it allows them to spend a much longer time gaining work experience than on other courses, giving a real taste for the roles available in their chosen industry.

NCFE is anticipating that the craft and design T Level will similarly be an eye-opening and inspiring course for students, granting access to the industry and helping them along their career journeys.  

At the moment, NCFE is in the early stages of developing the Craft and Design T Level and is looking to ensure it lines up with the skills and employment needs of those sectors. NCFE wants sector leaders, practitioners and experts from across the craft and design industries to get in touch and share their thoughts on what the qualification needs to include and how it should be work. This is an exciting opportunity to shape the upcoming workforce, and future proof the sector by ensuring any current and future skills gaps are addressed.

NCFE is encouraging anyone who’s interested to get in touch via their website or by emailing jodiewade@ncfe.org.uk. Your input can be provided remotely and flexibly to suit you. Be part of a once in a lifetime revolution in education which will impact and improve your industry.

Zac Aldridge is the Director of Qualifications and Assessment at NCFE, an educational charity and leader in vocational and technical learning. Below he discusses the new T Level becoming available in craft and design and explains how experts from related industries can contribute to shaping it.