The world of academic qualification is ever changing, but, as things stand in September 2019, the levels (and further divisions) within England are outlined below.
The level indicates the difficulty of the subject matter, with a higher number indicating a higher level of difficulty. In England the levels range between an entry level a doctorate level numbered at 8.
Within Construction there is a level 1 which enables people to get a green CSCS labourer card, level 2 is the first level that CITB pays a grant for and can enable the candidate to get a blue skilled worker card, with levels 3 and above also enabling access to other CSCS cards or their equivalent.
A level 1 qualification is equivalent to a GCSE grade 1,2 or 3/D,E,F or G;
A level 2 a GCSE level 4-9/C-A*; CSE grade A or an O level.
Level 3 an A level and so on. (For more details use the link at the bottom of this post)
Once the level or difficulty is established, then there is another consideration; the depth into which the study goes, or the size of the qualification. This is indicated by 3 options, an award, certificate and diploma.
An award indicates a basic covering of the subject and is anticipated to involve up to 130 learning hours of study.
A certificate gives a broader coverage of a subject and is expected to take between 130 and 370 learning hours.
The most in-depth is the diploma which is expected to take over 370 hours of study to complete.
We are however next year also expected to get our hears around T levels, information on which will come closer to their launch!
https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels