Due to launch in September, the new qualification has been deferred another year “at least”
The T Level in Hairdressing, Barbering and Beauty Therapy, due to launch in September as a new vocational qualification for 16 to 19-year-olds, has been deferred until “at least 2024”.
A letter has been sent to T Level providers from the Department of Education director for professional & technical education, Sue Lovelock, to make them aware of the change. “We have taken this decision to protect the quality of T Levels and to ensure that T Levels continue to lead to great outcomes for all students,” she says in the letter.
“As such, there is more work for awarding organisations to do before IfATE and Ofqual can be clear that these T Levels are capable of meeting the high-quality bar required by both organisations to enable them to be taken into delivery, and that will not be possible in time for launch this September.”
The move to at least 2024 is to “ensure that all parts of the system are operating well”.
Through the two-year programme, T Level students learn the core knowledge and skills that are needed for entry to a range of hairdressing and barbering jobs, with 45 days job placement an integral part of the programme. Such core content will include business and how the sector operates, an understanding of the client journey and consultation and sales and marketing. Students then also complete at least one module of occupation-specific content, such as barbering or hairdressing.
Some providers have been developing T Level Transition Programmes (TLTP) in routes for which T Levels have been deferred to 2024, including Hair and Beauty routes. The letter states that on this occasion, providers can continue to develop these programmes and deliver their TLTP in 2023, ahead of delivery of the T Levels. This is on the proviso that they commit to deliver these T Levels in 2024, to ensure students have a progression route to the T Level they have been preparing for.
Those with questions are being urged to contact TLevel.delivery@education.gov.uk.
Other T Levels being deferred include Craft and Design, and Media, Broadcast and Production until 2024, and Catering beyond 2024.
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