BTECs: What are they?

Thinking about your children’s future as early as possible gives them plenty of time to think about what they want to do when they leave school or before they go to college. As this year’s students tentatively wait for their BTEC results, a BBC News article looks deeper into what BTECs are and how students should pay more attention to the skills they can offer.

BTECs are aimed at people who are interested in a particular industry, such as hospitality, childcare and engineering but there are different options for your children to consider.

What are BTEC Nationals and BTEC Firsts?

The article by BBC News reports on its website: “BTECs - which stand for the Business and Technology Education Council - are practical qualifications that are aimed at specific job or career sectors.”

Continuing to explain more about the course structure and what the grades can be used for in the future: “BTEC Nationals are studied over one or two years and are similar to A-levels. Many students take a combination of BTECs and A-levels. BTECs can be used to get into university, although many use them to have occupation-specific skills.”

Who takes BTEC Nationals and why?

BTEC courses can suit a lot of people, especially those who are looking to move into a creative or hands-on industry when they leave school or college, the article explains a little more about who could look at taking BTEC Nationals and why.

“It was estimated just under 250,000 students completed BTEC Nationals in 2019, compared with about 245,000 who sat A-levels. A further 200,000 are estimated to sit BTEC Firsts and other BTEC qualifications. BTEC Nationals can be sat by any age group - in fact, most are taken by those over the age of 22, as they develop practical career skills.”

BTECs are a great choice for all students who may be unsure as to where they want to take their career. If you’re looking to keep your children occupied over the summer holidays then why not take a look in private household staff?