New 'Tech-Levels' Launched By Exam Board

New qualifications known as Tech-levels are being offered by one of the UK's main exam boards.

Tech-levels are being offered in colleges from this week, which will teach young people about everything from cyber security to IT programming.

The new qualifications are being offered by exam board AQA in the wake of the Wolf Report in 2011 which said many vocational course do not help students' career prospects.

Seven Tech-levels are available from this week; design engineering; mechatronic engineering; power network engineering; IT networking; IT programming: and IT user support.

Two more - cyber security and entertainment technology - will begin next year.

Technology companies including Siemens, Microsoft, Toshiba, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing helped with the qualifications' creation.

The head of technical and vocational qualifications at AQA, Carole Bishop, said: "We felt strongly that designing qualifications with employers in mind wasn't enough - and that it was important to involve the employers right from the start and at every stage of the process.

"The input we've had from more than a hundred organisations means we can be really confident that our Tech-levels have exactly what employers are looking for.

"These new qualifications are on an equal footing with A-levels, and we believe employers will start making them a job requirement because they know they'll guarantee the right knowledge and skills."

The Further Education courses are available to 16 to 19-year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

They carry UCAS points ranging up to 280 points for the top grade.

This allows those who sit the exams to go on to university - or head straight into employment or apprenticeships.

Mike Morris of Microsoft Education UK said: "We've helped AQA to come up with modules that will be fit for purpose in terms of delivering employability into the skills we currently find a challenge in our market place."