We have an opportunity to create a fantastic technical education landscape for the travel and aviation industry, explains David Rowley, product manager in technical education at the educational charity and awarding organisation, NCFE.
With the amount of uncertainty and change at the moment, it’s understandable that for many, the future of education in the UK travel and aviation industry feels up in the air.
The last thing we want to see as an awarding organisation is learners feeling cut adrift and out of options when it comes to achieving the qualifications they need to progress into their chosen careers.
We also need to ensure that any worker or skills shortages in the industry are being addressed, not deepened – something I know is of real concern for those lobbying to save the current courses.
While there’s been a real spotlight on which qualifications are being ‘defunded’, there’s been very little information about any new qualifications that will replace them.
The purpose of the post-16 reforms is to create a system that better enables students to get to their intended destinations – whether that’s into higher education or skilled employment.
With that in mind, the proposed new system will have two branches:
• academic qualifications with the primary aim of preparing students for higher education.
• technical qualifications with the primary aim of preparing students for entry into skilled employment.
In the academic space, there will only be A Levels and a few other small qualifications called alternative academic qualifications (AAQs). A Travel and Tourism A Level is currently available to learners, and this will remain in place after the reforms conclude.
T Levels are the technical qualifications that have been making the headlines and there are no plans for one in Travel and Tourism – this has led people to mistakenly believe that there will be no more technical qualifications for the sector. T Levels, however, only represent the tip of the iceberg in this space.
The important thing about technical qualifications is that they must map to ‘occupational standards’ – basically job specifications. T Levels are an example of this, however there’s another category known as occupational-entry qualifications.
That means that if occupational standards exist that relate to Travel and Tourism, then awarding organisations can develop qualifications in those areas and they will be fully funded for 16-19 and adult learners. This has not been widely reported at all because the guidance is so dense and difficult to interpret.
This is where I feel there’s an opportunity. We now have a chance to create newer, more specialised versions of these technical qualifications that are more centred around the knowledge and skills the sector needs.
There are occupational standards that exist at Level 3 for travel, hospitality, aviation, and cabin crew, and therefore we’re free to develop technical qualifications in those areas.
As these qualifications are designed to prepare learners for the workplace, one of the key stipulations is that the content must be written by those who know the industry best – employers themselves.
Centres can run more than one of these qualifications to build a two-year college programme that trains learners up in multiple disciplines and allows them to enter the sector with the competencies that employers want, or progress to higher study.
This will mean that current and future skills challenges can start to be addressed and learners will be able to hit the ground running as they leave education. For employers, they will be equipped with the skilled workforce that they need.
NCFE’s existing qualifications will be funded up until August 2026, to support the sector and allow for a better transition into the new landscape.
Throughout this period, we’ll be engaging with experts and specialists within the travel industry to ensure any new content is appropriate and fits the needs of the sector.
The new qualifications will then take over from September 2026 and we believe they will give learners far better preparation for the workplace.
At NCFE, we recognise and understand the concern about the future of travel education from educators and employers alike, but we want to reassure you that we are standing by the travel industry.
Part of our purpose as an educational charity is to ensure no learner is left behind, and we’re committed to ensuring career aspirations aren’t grounded as a result of changes in the education system.
We’re ready to work together with the sector to ensure it remains a vibrant, attractive, and accessible employment proposition for learners, both now and as we move into the future.