Tech Ed Study: Post-course progression of level 4/5 learners

About the study

Ongoing reforms to technical education, initiated by the previous government, are designed to improve the quality of technical education and therefore the technical skills needed to boost productivity in the UK economy. A key aspect of these reforms focuses on level 4/5 qualifications, which sit between level 3 qualifications (e.g., A level) and an undergraduate degree. From the academic year 2022/2023, Higher Technical Qualifications (HTQs) were introduced as a single ‘quality badge’ for level 4/5 qualifications.

All learners surveyed for this report had studied their course in the 2020/21 or 2021/22 academic year and were therefore not studying Higher Technical Qualifications as put in place by the reforms. These learners had also been interviewed in Wave 1 of the study in summer 2022. As such, the findings discussed in the report are intended to provide a baseline prior to interviews with learners in subsequent post-reform cohorts. Topics explored include:

• Learner destinations and outcomes after the course ended, including learners’ current work and study, whether they have stayed within their level 4/5 course field, and satisfaction with current activity.
• Future plans, including learners’ intentions for future work or study, and factors shaping their career decisions.
• Reflections on level 4/5 qualifications, including how their programme prepared them for their current work or study, awareness of higher technical education within their workplace or institution, and fulfilment in their current activity.

A total of 650 learners completed an interview at this wave (a 47% response rate).

Methodology

This longitudinal web-CATI survey for pre-reform level 4/5 learners was conducted across two waves in 2022 and 2024 as part of a larger study with several cohorts of technical education learners. For more information please refer to the technical annex report available here.