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.