Making vocational qualifications fit for the future of Wales
English | Cymraeg
Jo Richards, Executive Director, Qualifications Policy and Reform, Qualifications Wales
How do we ensure that Wales has the skills we need to create a future where our people and our economy can flourish?
It’s a key question which is at the heart of Welsh Government’s ongoing skills audit announced at a National Training Federation for Wales (NTfW) event in June by Deputy Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education, Cefin Campbell.
He said: “We are at a pivotal moment for skills in Wales. Wales has real strengths, a talented workforce, strong employers and excellent training providers. We need to make sure those strengths are fully realised. The skills audit we are undertaking will give us a clearer picture of where the gaps are and where the opportunities lie.”
This audit’s early findings will shape the agenda for Welsh Government’s Future Skills Summit planned for this autumn. The summit will bring together employers, educators, training providers and policymakers to plan for the reform of vocational skills training.
We in Qualifications Wales have an important role to play in this process and we’re continuing our work to support a strong and sustainable post-16 vocational qualifications offer for learners in Wales. This work comes in response to significant reforms taking place in England.
What is England doing?
Reforms in England are aimed at:
- ensuring that there’s a clear, high-quality path for learners, whether their strengths are academic, technical or vocational
- creating a clearer, more flexible post-16 system
- helping learners combine academic and vocational study and preparing them for future jobs
From 2027, new V levels will be introduced. There will be new level 3 qualifications that offer a vocational pathway for students who want to explore different sectors before deciding where to specialise. Each V level will be equivalent in size to one A level and the first will be available in Digital, Education and Early Years, and Finance and Accounting from September 2027. More will be rolled out later.
Two new pathways (occupational and further study) are also being created to better support students at level 2. These pathways will support those aged 16-18. The UK government is also establishing 29 new Technical Excellence Colleges focused on key industries.
What is Qualifications Wales doing?
In March, we published our Post-16 Vocational Qualifications in Wales: Action Plan 2026-2028. It sets out how we will work with partners to protect learner choice, maintain qualification availability, and support a future offer that meets the needs of Wales.
While the plan includes four areas of work, our immediate focus is on providing robust, evidence-based advice to Welsh Government on the future of level 2 and level 3 vocational qualifications in Wales.
This work is important because many vocational qualifications used in Wales are also offered in England and Northern Ireland. As England changes its post-16 qualification landscape, including through the future removal of funding for some qualifications, there may be implications for the availability and viability of qualifications still needed by learners, providers and employers in Wales.
Leanne Hallett, Senior Qualifications Manager, and I have been working with the sector to gather views, including through discussions with members of the NTfW Board.
Initial discussions focused on the broad choices available to learners and providers in Wales and the issues that need to be considered. A second, more detailed phase of engagement has looked more closely at potential impacts, including risks, costs, delivery challenges, bilingual provision and progression routes. Feedback from these discussions is helping shape the advice that will be provided to Welsh Government.
These conversations are helping to ensure that further education and work-based learning providers’ perspectives are reflected as options are refined.
Next steps
The next stage will be to bring together the evidence gathered so far and develop more detailed advice for Welsh Government. This will include further consideration of the potential impact of different approaches and how future qualification policy can align with Welsh Government’s wider strategic approach to vocational education and training in Wales.
We will continue to work closely with partners, including colleges, work-based learning providers, awarding bodies, Medr, Estyn, Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol, Welsh Government and a range of representative organisations, to support stability for learners and providers while shaping a future vocational qualifications offer that works for Wales.
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