Funding set to end for ‘false hope’ vocational courses
CHOCOLATE tasting and cake decorating courses are set to lose funding amid a government crackdown on “lowquality” qualifications.
Officials have drawn up a list of more than 5,000 vocational and technical certificates that have had either low numbers of students or none at all in recent years.
These include qualifications in “independent living”, in “problem-solving with numbers up to 10” and in “home cookery skills”.
The Government is launching the biggest overhaul of post-16 education in 70 years, as part of a multibillionpound drive to improve technical training.
The new qualifications, which will see the courses dubbed “T-levels” – the technical version of A-levels – are due to be piloted from 2020.
Ministers have already banned any new vocational qualifications from receiving funding, as part of a drive to boost the profile and prestige of alternatives to academic courses.
The list of qualifications which could see their funding axed includes a “Level 1 Foundation Award” in chocolate tasting as well as a Level 2 Certificate – which is equivalent to a GCSE – in professional cake decoration.
Both qualifications are designed by FDQ limited, a specialist awarding body focused on the food and drink industry. The chocolate tasting course
“takes you through the basics of what is fine chocolate” and is suitable for both professionals and enthusiasts, according to the Chocolate Tasting Institute.
The course is assessed by a 30-minute multiple choice exam.
The Government has launched a consultation to gather views from the education sector on which of the 5,323 qualifications it has identified should continue to be awarded public funding from August 2021.
Further education colleges are currently given around £4,000 of state funding per pupil aged 16-19.
The head of Ofsted has previously warned that further education colleges are giving students “false hope” by offering courses in fields where they have no prospect of employment.
Amanda Spielman suggested that colleges, which provide largely vocational courses for 16- to 18-year-olds, are putting the “financial imperative of headcount” ahead of the what is best for young people. Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, said: “Removing funding for qualifications that have no or low numbers of enrolments will help make sure students have a clearer choice of the qualifications on offer, and ensure they get the skills they need to progress.”
David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges said: “Making the qualification landscape easier to navigate for students and employers is crucial for the success of technical education. This will help that.”