Vocational and other qualifications over time



This interactive visualisation shows the number of certificates issued in England for vocational and technical qualifications regulated by Ofqual from 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2025.

Two trends are displayed: the number of certificates in each individual quarter and the number of certificates in each 12 month period up to the end of the quarter.

Use the drop-down selections, to display the number of certificates for an individual qualification or for all qualifications of the selected qualification type, qualification level and sector subject area. Hover your cursor over each data point to also see the number of qualifications with certificates issued during this period.

The data used in this visualisation is published by Ofqual every quarter in the vocational qualifications dataset and in the vocational and other qualifications quarterly official statistics release.


Number of certificates issued from 1 January 2012 to 30 September 2025

For any feedback on these graphs, please contact [email protected].

Return to the Ofqual Analytics home page.

If you need an accessible version of this information to meet specific accessibility requirements, please email [email protected] with details of your request.


This interactive visualisation shows the number of certificates issued in England for vocational and technical qualifications regulated by Ofqual from 1 January 2012 onwards.

The data displayed in the graph can be changed with the drop-down selections. You can view the number of certificates for an individual qualification or for all qualifications of the selected qualification type, qualification level and sector subject area.

Two lines are displayed in the graph. The line labelled 'quarterly certificates' shows the number of certificates issued in each individual quarter. The line labelled '12 months to quarter end certificates' shows the number of certificates in each 12 month period up to the end of the quarter. The 'quarterly' line shows the seasonal trend across the year and the '12 months to quarter end' line shows the overall trend.

Trends in the number of certificates issued can reflect changes in the number of students taking those qualifications and their funding, but these are not the only potential explanations.

This interactive visualisation includes data on vocational and other qualifications awarded in England that are regulated by Ofqual or have been regulated at any point since 1 January 2012, regardless of their funding status.

It does not include GCSEs, AS and A levels, advanced extension awards, Extended Project Qualifications (EPQ), apprenticeship end-point assessments (EPAs), and T Level Technical Qualifications (TQs).

Regulated qualifications are classified into different qualification types.

Qualification type category is selected by the awarding organisation for the purposes of transparency on Ofqual's Register.

Qualification types provide information which complements that provided by the sector subject area classification. Qualification type can give an indication of a number of features, such as the nature of the qualification, the type of assessment, the qualification level and guided learning hours.

Further detail on the qualification types reported here can be found in the background notes of the latest release of Vocational and Other Qualifications Quarterly.

Awarding organisations refer to organisations recognised by Ofqual to develop, deliver and award qualifications.

Regulated qualifications are assigned a level from entry level through to level 8 broadly indicating the relative level of demand of the qualification. Levels are assigned by the qualification's awarding organisation with reference to Ofqual's published level descriptors.

Sector subject area is a classification of qualifications into business sectors or subject areas maintained by Ofqual. There are 15 sector subject areas, which each include several second tier sector subject areas. Sector subject areas are assigned by the qualification's awarding organisation with reference to Ofqual's published list of sector subject areas.

A quarter is a 3 month period. A year is split into four quarters:

  • Q1: 1 January to 31 March
  • Q2: 1 April to 30 June
  • Q3: 1 July to 30 September
  • Q4: 1 October to 31 December

A 12 months to quarter end period includes the current quarter, and the three previous quarters.

Data on the number of certificates issued is sent to Ofqual by the awarding organisations every quarter.

Information on qualifications (covering title, type, awarding organisation, sector subject area and level) is taken from Ofqual's Register of Regulated Qualifications, which gives information on regulated qualifications and recognised awarding organisations in England.

The data used in this visualisation is published by Ofqual every quarter in the vocational qualifications dataset and in the vocational and other qualifications quarterly official statistics release.

To ensure confidentiality, the data in this interactive visualisation has been rounded in line with Ofqual’s rounding policy. Certificate numbers have been rounded to the nearest 5. If the value is below 5, it is rounded up to 5 and 0 represents zero certificates.

We are publishing this data so that students, schools, policy makers and the public can easily access and explore information on qualifications and outcomes.

For any feedback on these graphs, please contact [email protected].

Return to the Ofqual Analytics home page.

If you need an accessible version of this information to meet specific accessibility requirements, please email [email protected] with details of your request.