![]() ![]() ![]() Colleges, universities and unions are campaigning to keep BTecs going as a middle-ground option so students can choose. The government wants to drop BTecs so that they do not conflict with its new T-level qualifications for technical subjects. Latest NHS figures show there are about 39,000 vacancies for registered nurses in England, with one in 10 nursing posts vacant on acute wards in London. With plans to stop funding some BTecs as soon as 2023, university leaders say the move is rushed and ministers have not thought through the consequences for critical caring professions. BTec students made up a third of the 74,000 students accepted in these disciplines before clearing in 2021. The Ucas figures include careers where there is a national shortage of staff, including nursing, midwifery and radiography. It could be a disaster, particularly for students from less affluent socio-economic backgrounds.” Prof David Green, the vice-chancellor of Worcester University, said: “Withdrawing funding for BTecs could strangle a very important part of the recruitment stream for nursing and other health degrees. New data from the university admissions service Ucas shows that this year more than 25,000 students who accepted places on social care degrees or subjects allied to medicine had studied a BTec, a qualification the government intends to drop as part of its new skills and post-16 education bill, to be debated in the House of Commons on Monday. The government’s planned cull of technical qualifications could prevent thousands of working-class students going to university to train to be nurses or work in health and social care, just as these professions are struggling with severe staff shortages, vice-chancellors say. ![]()
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