The number of vocational and technical qualifications (VTQs) awarded in Northern Ireland fell by about 20% during the Covid pandemic.

That is according to a Department for the Economy (DfE) report.

There were just over 142,000 vocational and technical certificates issued in 2020-21, down from almost 178,000 in 2018-19.

Like GCSEs, AS and A-Levels, many exams and assessments in VTQs were cancelled in 2020 and 2021.

That meant schools and colleges calculated grades in BTECs and other VTQs for their students.

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