Students in England face “disruption and disappointment” after the Government announced that a T-level in hair and beauty will no longer be offered as planned in September. Colleges had already begun enrolling students on to the combined flagship technical qualification in hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy ahead of its planned rollout this year, sector leaders said.
But plans for a T-level course in hairdressing and barbering have been scrapped altogether, while proposals for a T-level that focuses solely on the beauty sector are to be delayed until at least 2025. T-levels, which were launched in September 2020 as the Government’s flagship technical qualification, are still being rolled out gradually in England.
Robert Halfon, minister for skills, apprenticeships and higher education, said it “will no longer be introducing a combined T-level” in hair and beauty following feedback from the hair sector. In a written ministerial statement on Tuesday, Mr Halfon said: “The beauty sector has fed back that a good quality level 3 classroom-based progression route is desirable.
“Therefore, this government will explore introducing a T-Level which focuses on the beauty sector, with the expectation that this could be introduced after 2025. This differs from feedback we have had from representatives in the hair sector which has led us to conclude that the best route is for learners to progress into their industry through completion of an existing level 2 or level 3 apprenticeship or a level 2 classroom-based qualification.”
Catherine Sezen, director of education policy at the Association of Colleges (AoC), said: “Today’s announcement that the T-level in hairdressing, barbering and beauty therapy will no longer be taken forward for delivery in September 2024 comes as a huge shock to colleges who have been enrolling students on to this study programme. While we can see that it is logical for a Level 2 hair qualification to lead to an apprenticeship, we have to question why it has taken so long to reach this decision.”
Kevin Gilmartin, post-16 specialist at the Association of Schools and College Leaders (ASCL), said: “Rolling out an entire new system of qualifications was never going to be completely plain sailing and it’s encouraging that, in this instance, the government has recognised it has made an error and has listened to the needs of the profession. However, this will leave many schools and colleges in limbo who have spent time and money getting ready for teaching these qualifications this year and will have offered places to students as a result.
“This will mean considerable disruption and disappointment for many. It begs the question as to why there is such a rush to dispense with so many Btechs and similar qualifications before T-levels have been properly embedded.”
The Department for Education (DfE) is planning to remove funding for a number of post-16 qualifications that “overlap” with T-levels in England, which are considered to be broadly equivalent to three A-levels. On Tuesday, the DfE published a provisional list of 71 technical qualifications at risk of losing funding because they overlap with T-levels rolled out in or before 2024.
Mr Halfon said: “Subject to the outcomes of an appeal process which gives awarding organisations the opportunity to contest a qualification’s placement on the list, we will withdraw 16-19 public funding for new starts on these qualifications from August 1 2025.” Ms Sezen said the list created “greater uncertainty” for students, staff and college leaders.
She added: “We once again urge the government to pause defunding and undertake a review of the decisions made on qualifications for the future. The Department for Education must address the sector’s valid concerns about the impact on students and deliverability of T-levels at scale.”
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