CEPEO Seminar Series - Robbie Maris

Technical and vocational education and training (VET) is a crucial part of any economy and education system. In particular, upper secondary VET systems are responsible for educating a large proportion of the population, significantly impacting productivity, economic growth and skills shortages. In this paper, we analyse the short-run impacts of a new set of hybrid upper secondary VET qualifications in the UK: T levels. T levels are large (3 A levels in size) VET qualifications that are more academically oriented than other VET qualifications and combine classroom learning with work-based experience and placements. T levels are part of a broader global trend towards combining academic and vocational tracks into one programme in upper secondary education. Using a combination of methods (instrumental variables, regression adjustment and matching), we find overall, early indications of T levels having negative short-run impacts.