Essential Digital Skills Qualifications and Digital Functional Skills Qualifications

City & Guilds has made the decision not to proceed with the development of Essential Digital Skills qualifications.

The Department for Education and Ofqual have confirmed that the reform of Functional Skills ICT qualifications has recommenced and City & Guilds will instead be focusing their efforts on the new Digital Functional Skills Qualifications which are due for first teaching in August 2023.

The final version of the subject content for Digital Functional Skills qualifications has been published and can be found on the dedicated government website.

As our development of these new qualifications gets underway, we will be issuing regular updates and holding webinars. To ensure that you receive our email notifications, please click on the “Email Updates” link at the foot of this page and select ICT Skills from the Skills for Work and Life section of the preference list.

Following the announcements from the ESFA in December 2020 about the removal of funding for entry level and level 1 ICT for Users qualifications, we take this opportunity to remind customers that individual units from City & Guilds 4249 Entry level 3 and 7574 Level 1 IT User qualifications remain funded, even where the full qualifications are not. These units can be accessed via the 4249-51 and 7574-90/91/92 top-up/unit routes on Walled Garden.

More information about how IT User units can be utilised is available on the Adult Skills page,  with individual delivery plans available for most sectors, including Digital/IT.