Teenagers in England will be able to take GCSEs in vocational subjects – that could include digital tech and building and construction – from September 2029. These qualifications will be taken in schools by 14-16-year-olds, with the subjects decided in consultation with regional and local leaders. The new policy also includes a requirement for work experience, which has not been compulsory for under-16s since 2012.
But the broadening of the curriculum to allow for vocational qualifications from the age of 14 is not new. Technical Awards are currently offered by nine in ten schools with similar subjects to those suggested for vocational GCSEs. Technical awards are designed explicitly for 14-16 year olds to undertake applied study of a sector or broad occupational group, such as leisure, travel and tourism. Assessment must include an exam that makes up at least 40% of the overall mark. The resulting qualification counts in performance tables as equivalent to one GCSE.
The government’s new proposals differ from the current system because the content for the vocational GCSEs will be set nationally. Content for existing Technical Awards is set by awarding organisations. The decision about which vocational GCSEs will be offered in an area will be led by local areas themselves.
These differences, alongside the requirement for work experience, signal a clearer link to the local labour market. In addition, content being set at a national level could mean that it is more aligned with occupational standards. These are profiles that describe the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to be competent in a particular occupation.
This alignment could allow young people to better understand the vocational options available to them from 16. They will have had the opportunity to learn about broader occupations through one or more vocational GCSEs with effective practical learning, and had some work experience from 14.
Existing options
While a renewed focus on technical education is always welcome, there have been several attempts to provide high status vocational options for young people from age 14. The Tomlinson Review in 2004 made the case for a 14-19 diploma where academic and technical learning would be combined in a single qualification with different levels and lines of specialism. However, this did not sufficiently convince politicians to scrap GCSEs and A Levels.
Academics Ann Hodgson and Ken Spours wrote frequently in the 2000s about the need for a 14-19 upper secondary phase in England, including both vocational and academic programmes. From 2003 to 2009, social issues charity the Nuffield Foundation carried out a substantial review on 14-19 education, which called for the “re-assertion of a broader vision of education”.
The free market approach to education policy under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government allowed for the establishment of University Technical Colleges (UTCs), introduced in 2010. UTCs were an attempt to create upper secondary institutions for 14-19 year olds focused on technical subjects in England. They faced challenges of recruiting learners at 14 and maintaining employer links, yet over 40 still remain across England and they show good destination outcomes for those who start at a UTC aged 16.
During this period, vocational courses for 14-year-olds in colleges were also developed. Although not widespread, it has been possible to study at a college as a 14-year-old since 1992, with a more formal system in existence since the mid 2010s. These courses are generally taken at colleges alongside the remainder of learning at school, although 14-16-year-olds can now be full-time at a college.
Research from 2007 suggests that young people wanted to study in a different way when they selected a vocational option at a college. Colleges have resources for vocational subjects that are not available to schools, both in terms of equipment used for post-16 vocational courses, and specialist vocational teachers.
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Technical Awards were introduced in schools in 2014. Regulations around assessment were tightened in 2020.
Recent figures suggest around 45% of young people take a Technical Award at school. A small cohort of young people attend further education colleges from age 14, accessing industry standard equipment and a different kind of learning. Progression rates are good, with 75% or more moving into post-16 education.
Technical progression
There is now an established high-status technical route for young people aged 16-18 in the form of a T-level, introduced in 2020. These are technical qualifications for post 16-education that are the equivalent of three A-levels, and include a significant work placement, while being related to occupational standards. This has been a key change in the system, and although numbers are currently small, expansion is planned.
Further reforms announced in 2025 to vocational qualifications for those over 16 also signify a major shift. Learners will be able to pick up to three vocational subjects to study for V-levels, each equivalent to one A-level. Their peers studying at level two – qualifications taken after the age of 16 but the equivalent academic level to GCSEs – can study for an Occupational Certificate over two years, then move directly into work, or study for a Foundation Certificate then progress to A-, T- or V-levels.
Combined with these changes, the vocational GCSEs announcement offers the potential for more young people to experience different vocational subjects as well as some work experience from the age of 14. This could enable them to make more informed decisions about their post-16 options.
The current system and the reforms to post-16 vocational qualifications mean that any technical pathways are, and will remain, less rigid in England than in countries which sort young people into different kinds of school for upper secondary education.
A greater understanding of the different types of work will help young people who ultimately transition to vocational learning post-16. However, the changes from age 14 rely on schools having the appropriate resources to make that vocational learning meaningful.
Charlynne Pullen is currently a UKRI What Works Innovation Fellow at the Education Endowment Foundation focusing on post-16 education – https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/projects-and-evaluation/evaluation/eef-evaluation-reports-and-research-papers/methodological-research-and-innovations/supporting-progression-level-2-to-3-vocational-programmes-16-19 and the Principal Investigator for a Nuffield Foundation project on Apprenticeship Pathways – https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/project/apprenticeship-pathways . She is a former Governor at Milton Keynes College Group and a member of the Labour Party.
