Employer support for digital T Levels
What are T Levels and how can your organisation get involved?
Find out more about T Levels
Launched in September 2020, T Levels are new courses that follow on from GCSEs and are equivalent to three A Levels. The courses take two years to complete. Whereas A Levels are purely class-based qualifications, T Levels place a greater emphasis on practical, hands-on experience.
As such, the new qualifications offer students a mixture of classroom learning and ‘on-the-job’ training via industry placement. In total, students can expect at least 315 hours - or approximately 45 days - away from the classroom and in the workplace.
Watch this webinar about How T Levels can work for your organisation
“What sets T Levels apart is that they have been developed in collaboration with more than 250 leading businesses, so they have been specifically designed to meet the needs of employers and address skill shortages.”
Which firms were involved in T Level’s creation?
T Levels were created with input from Fujitsu, Accenture, CGI, Lloyds Banking Group, IBM UK, Cap Gemini, Comptia, FutureCoders and the Army. Digital T Levels have been designed to make sure students have the experience and skills required to progress straight into a digital career.
Digital competencies will also be embedded throughout all T Level qualifications, for example, the design, surveying and planning T Level requires students to understand the use of digital technologies on a construction project, such as CAD drawing, geo surveying and building information modelling.
Employer support for industry placements
Are you an employer or working with employers? Could you offer an industry placement to a T Level student?
You can now partner with local colleges and schools to offer T Level industry placements. There are many benefits of doing this such as developing future talent for your business and finding solutions for entry-level skills shortages.
The Strategic Development Network (SDN) are now partnering with the Department for Education (DfE) to help employers plan and prepare to offer high-quality industry placements.
“Businesses are already seeing the value these students can bring and are building T Levels and industry placements into their recruitment pipelines, both for higher-level apprenticeships and other roles.”
Industry placements of at least 315 hours will be a key component of T Levels. Providers are building their capacity to support extended placements by using the Capacity and Delivery Fund (CDF) to work with employers.
The Gatsby Charitable Foundation shares some employer experiences of what students on industry placements have brought to their businesses.
The Association of Colleges (AoC) has also published a set of guidance materials focusing on how to effectively implement industry placements.
