Government to overhaul technical education with introduction of new 'T-levels'

The government is planning the biggest shake-up to post-16 education in years with a multi-billion pound investment in technical qualifications.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will announce the move, which aims to put technical qualifications on an equal footing with academic studies, when he unveils the Budget next week.

Currently, students moving into technical professions choose form around 13,000 technical qualifications, some of which are of dubious value to both students or employers.

The government plans to replace these with 15 standalone courses, which are being dubbed "T-levels".

Students will spend 50% longer studying for the new qualifications, bring the number of teaching hours up to 900 per year.

The plan will be backed with investment of more than £500 million per year once it is fully up and running, according to the Treasury.

Student loans will also be made available to students studying higher technical education courses at levels 4-6 in National Colleges and Institutes of Technology.

The Chancellor is expected to make investment in education a major theme in his budget.

But the move comes as the UK readies to leave the EU and the government hopes to raise the UK's productivity levels.

The UK's technical education system is seen as weaker than those in its European counterparts.