Director Weekly  Could the proposal for a new suite of V-level qualifications address employers’ concerns about post-16 education and skills in England?

• A new post-16 qualification: V-levels

From 2027, a new form of vocational qualification will be available in England: V-levels. Offered at Level 3 – equivalent to A-levels – the new qualifications will be offered alongside A-levels and T-levels, providing something of a middle path between those academic and technical routes.

T-levels were only introduced in 2020 but have faced numerous criticisms. They are highly focused on specific industry requirements, making them less attractive to young people who aren’t sure about their career direction – and limiting their value to employers who have different requirements. Securing employer buy-in for the required 45-day industry placements has been challenging. And they’re tough, too: a T-level is equivalent to three A-levels and just as demanding, which doesn’t suit everyone.

V-levels promise several benefits. One is greater flexibility: they could be combined with A-levels, for instance, or taken as a stand-alone, making them more accessible to students with different capabilities. They will be less specialised, making them more suitable for students who want to keep their options open. And they will significantly streamline the current confusing system, replacing as many as 900 existing qualifications that are not A or T levels, including the venerable BTECs.

It takes time for understanding of new qualifications to percolate among employers, especially SMEs, so some businesses may be dubious about yet another new qualification.

Yet if the government succeeds in designing V-levels to reflect the requirements of the modern economy and better meet students’ needs, it will be of real benefit to business. The direction of travel is positive.

• A system responsive to employer needs

The white paper has section dedicated to building a system that’s responsive to employer needs. That idea has been a mainstay of education and skills reforms over the past 20 years or more – yet it is still to be welcomed.

In practical terms, that means that Skills England will play a critical role in gathering data on employers’ current and future skills needs. The success of the proposed reforms will hinge, in significant part, on how well Skills England engages with employers and delivers on this task.

• The Growth and Skills Levy will be critical

The new Growth and Skills Levy  — which replaced the Apprenticeship Levy — will be key for funding employee skills development. The ability to fund short courses via the Levy from April 2026 will be welcomed by many businesses, although some employers may find this flexibility underwhelming compared to Labour’s grand promises of reform while in opposition.

However, there are still concerns about how Levy funds are used. Fiscal drag has left more and more employers paying the Levy, yet there has been a growing gap – worth hundreds of millions of pounds – between the government take and the sums allocated to the apprenticeships budget. We want to see the full amount of the new Levy take allocated for its intended purpose of investing in skills.

There will be plenty of wrinkles to iron out as the government implements its reforms, and much of their success will depend on details not yet known. But the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper undoubtedly contains green shoots from the employer perspective.

Shaping the IoD’s response

The IoD plans to survey members soon on skills and education policy. In the meantime, if you have views on the new V-levels or other aspects of post-16 education and skills, please contact Alex via [email protected]