Vocational and other qualifications quarterly: January to March 2023
Statistics on vocational and other qualifications (excluding GCSEs, AS levels and A levels).
Applies to England
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Details
Context
For assessments taken in quarter 1 2023 (January to March), specific adaptations put in place to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic were no longer permitted. Qualifications awarded during this period may use results from adapted assessments taken before September 2022 (see the background notes for more information). The trends seen in this quarter may have been affected as a result.
Key Headlines for quarter 1 2023 (January to March)
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The number of certificates awarded in quarter 1 2023 was just above 900,000 , an increase of about 8% from quarter 1 2022. The number of certificates issued between April 2022 to March 2023 (4,970,545) increased by 3% relative to the number of certificates issued between April 2021 to March 2022 (4,845,500). Despite this increase, the number of certificates issued in quarter 1 2023 (908,610) is still below pre-pandemic levels, with 154,220 fewer certificates issued than in quarter 1 2019 (1,062,830).
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Several qualification types saw an increase in numbers of certificates issued compared to quarter 1 2022. The largest absolute increase in the number of qualifications awarded by type in quarter 1 2023 was seen for Vocationally-Related Qualifications (from 300,875 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 321,850 certificates in quarter 1 2023, an increase of 7%). Essential Digital Skills showed the largest decrease in qualifications awarded by type in quarter 1 2023 (from 2,945 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 2,635 certificates in quarter 1 2023, a decrease of 10%).
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Most qualification levels saw an increase in the numbers of certificates issued compared to quarter 1 2022. The largest decrease in certificates awarded by qualification level in quarter 1 2023 was seen in Level 4 qualifications (from 15,745 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 15,010 certificates in quarter 1 2023, a decrease of 5%). The largest increase in certificates awarded by qualification level in quarter 1 2023 was seen for Level 2 qualifications (from 282,685 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 307,175 certificates in quarter 1 2023, an increase of 9%).
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Quarter 1 2023 saw increases in the number of certificates awarded for most sector subject areas. Construction, Planning and the Built Environment saw the largest decrease in number of certificates compared to quarter 1 2022 (from 58,845 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 57,735 certificates in quarter 1 2023, a decrease of 2%). The largest increase in the number of certificates was seen in Health, Public Services and Care (from 279,815 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 306,240 certificates in quarter 1 2023, an increase of 9%).
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The qualification with the highest number of certificates awarded in quarter 1 2023 was the Qualsafe Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work (RQF) with 35,390 qualifications, followed by the FAA Level 3 Award in Emergency First Aid at Work with 28,185 qualifications. In quarter 1 2023, TCL Entry Level Certificate in ESOL International Speaking and Listening (Entry 3) (GESE Grade 5) (B1.1) had the third highest number of certificates, with 23,715 qualifications. The top 3 qualifications were in the same ranking order in quarter 1 2022.
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The awarding organisation with the highest number of certificates issued in quarter 1 2023 was City & Guilds, followed by Highfield and Qualsafe. City & Guilds saw an 8% increase in the number of certificates compared to quarter 1 2022 (from 97,600 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 104,960 certificates in quarter 1 2023). Highfield saw a 14% increase in the number of certificates compared to quarter 1 2022 (from 75,955 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 86,700 certificates in quarter 1 2023), and Qualsafe saw a 7% increase in the number of certificates compared to quarter 1 2022 (from 62,290 certificates in quarter 1 2022 to 66,570 certificates in quarter 1 2023).
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The awarding organisation with the highest number of certificates issued between April 2022 to March 2023 was Pearson, followed by City & Guilds, then NCFE. These 3 awarding organisations had also issued the highest number of certificates in April 2021 to March 2022 in the same order.
Datasets
The dataset used to produce this release is available separately, and can be explored visually via this interactive tool.
Statistics collection
All our published vocational and other qualifications publications are available as part of the collection for vocational qualifications statistics.
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