Very few learners take level 4 and 5 qualifications compared with the rungs below and above on the qualifications ladder.
These post-school, pre-degree qualifications are currently filled by the likes of higher national diplomas (HNDs) and foundation degrees.
Are these overlooked qualifications about to have something of a renaissance? Education secretary Damian Hinds said in December that a new suite of qualifications at level 4 and 5 was needed to help fill the country’s skill gaps. It is widely expected that the Augar Review of post-18 education and funding will call for greater numbers of these qualifications, and the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, Caroline Fairbairn, today called for an entitlement for learners to take a level 4 or 5 qualification.
Read more: Hinds: New technical qualifications needed
More news: Baroness Wolf: More level 4 and 5 qualifications required
Background: ‘Closing skill gaps means delivering at levels 4 and 5’
The Department for Education has today published a report reviewing the level 4-5 qualification and provider market. Here is a summary of its findings:
What are level 4 and 5 qualifications?
Level 4 and 5 qualifications are those that sit between level 3 (A levels, T levels, applied generals, such as like BTECs and Cambridge Technical) and level 6+ (bachelors with honours, master’s degrees, PhDs).
How many people take these qualifications?
Relatively few learners take level 4 and 5 qualifications compared with other qualifications at level 3 or level 6.
Figures from 2018 show that there are approximately 216,000 level 4 and 5 learners across higher education and further education providers, including 174,000 learners studying classroom-based courses and 42,000 on higher apprenticeships.
This was largely attributed to a lack of learner demand, with most providers reporting that employers and learners better understand and value degree programmes.
What is the market like?
The level 4 and 5 market is diverse with 3,368 different qualifications available to learners in 2016-17. Programmes not delivered through apprenticeships are most commonly taken for subjects in health, public services and care (23 per cent of all level 4 and 5 learners); business administration and law (17 per cent); and engineering and manufacturing technologies (12 per cent).
There are generally fewer providers in the North East and East Midlands delivering level 4 and 5 provision.
Who offers these qualifications?
Nearly all FE colleges (97 per cent) and most HE institutions (88 per cent) provide level 4 and 5 qualifications. Nearly 200 private and adult community learning providers deliver level 4 and 5 providers, which includes 48 alternative providers in HE that are not FE colleges.
How are they funded?
Most level 4 and 5 programmes are funded by employers and learners, either directly or through loans. Reductions to the FE adult skills budget has meant that few level 4 and 5 programmes are fully subsidised. However, learners can access advanced learner loans and HE loans for undertaking level 4 and 5 programmes.
