As an employer, you might have already heard about the introduction of the new T Levels qualifications for young people.
2021 saw the first set of subjects in which students could study towards attainşng a T Level qualification. 2022 sees the role out of the next set of available qualifications and, in 2023, more subjects will become available.
You might be an employer who is already onboard with T Levels and perhaps even offering placements to students as part of their course.
If this isn’t the case, this article will take a look at what T Levels are and also look at how you, as an employer, can benefit from them.
What Are T-Levels?
T-Levels are a brand new qualification that young people can do after completing their compulsory schooling at 16.
Not all young people who want to continıe studying want to do A Levels. Some young people already know what they want to do as a future career and want to study further into that subject.
T-Level stands for Technical Level so all the courses are designed around vocational subjects that prepare students for the world of work within that field.
After successful completion of the T Level course, they will be awarded with a Level 3 qualification and with this, they can choose to go forwards by going to university, doing an Apprenticeship or taking on a full time job.
The idea of the T Level is that the student is prepared for the workplace by being given the knowledge and skills they need to to begin their chosen career.
The advantage of T Levels is that they are drawn up by employers who know what is needed to bridge skills gaps and to build up the relevant knowledge and experience.
Which Subjects Are Available At T-Level?
So, can you benefit from T-Levels as an employer?
If you operate in a sector where T-Level subjects are available, it should be the case that you will be able to employ young people who have done T-Level courses and those young people will be more prepared for the role than they would otherwise have been in previous years.
T-Levels are brand new and are being rolled out over a three year period. Some subjects became available last year. September 2022 sees the roll out of more subjects and another batch will be available in 2023.
The vocational subjects that are currently available for students are:
- Accounting
- Building services engineering for construction
- Design & develıpment for engineering and manufacturing
- Design, surveying & planning for construction
- Digital business services
- Digital production, design & development
- Digital support & services
- Education & childcare
- Engineering, manufacturing, processing & control
- Finance
- Health
- Healthcare science
- Maintenance, installation & repair for engineering & manufacturing
- Management & administration
- Onsite construction
- Science
From 2023 onwards, they will also be able to choose from the following:
- Agriculture, land management & production
- Animal care & management
- Catering
- Craft & design
- Hair, beauty & aesthetics
- Legal
- Media broadcast & production
T- Levels, unlike Apprenticeships, are designed to be more classroom based. However, students still gain some work experience when completing their T Level courses.
45 days of the course is given over to a work placement which can either be done as a 45 day block or it can be broken up, depending on how employers and the training institutions and colleges work together.
How Can You Benefit From T-Levels?
As we said above, the T-Level courses are designed to prepare students for the workplace so this means you get better qualified and experience young people in your roles.
However, you can also benefit in other ways, too.
Demonstrate Your Commitment To Young People
If you are committed to employing young people and developing their careers, you can further demonstrate this commitment by being one of the companies that offers placements for students who are doing T-Level courses.
If you are interested in getting onboard with offering T-Level placements within your company, you can use this page to search for T-Level providers near you. They will be able to match you with a student studying a relevant subject.
What’s in it for you?
- You will be part of a team of employers who are investing in young people for the future of your industry or sector.
- You will be investing time in developing local talent and making sure young people in the locality are developing skills and experience for the future.
- You get to benefit from having a yoıung person in the workplace for a short while who could bring with them a whole new approach to working. Perhaps lots of new ideas and a new way of tackling day to day tasks in the workplace.
Offering student placements can also benefit your company in lots of other ways.
Boost Your Recruitment & Visibility
Especially for SMEs, it can sometimes be difficult to recruit the best young talent because larger companies can make themselves more visible to students and attract them to apply for roles.
Offering a placement to young people shows that you want to invest in their future and they may want to apply for your vacancies in the future.
Having a young person in the workplace means you also get to check out their skills and talent before anyone else does. If you are in a position to offer them an Apprenticeship at level 4 or above – or you want to offer them a full time job with the company – this could be the time to encourage them to come and work for you in the future.
As well as landing some new young talent, you have also saved time and money that would have been spent on the recruitment process.
New Skills & Ideas To Boost Productivity
Young people can bring fresh ideas and innovation to your company that can boost productivity and also encourage existing staff to tackle projects in different ways to how they might have done previously.
Because they are fresh from their learning and their course, their knowledge will be right up to date and this can introduce some new skills to your existing team.
Boost Your Company Reputation & Branding
If you get a reputation for being a company that invests in young people in your local area then this can also improve your company branding.
This is good for your future recruitment drives because you might attract more young, local talent to apply for your roles. Young people will see your company as being innovative and forward thinking with your openness to T-Levels.
Offering work placements will give you the opportunity to build relationships with schools, colleges and other institutions offering T-Level courses. You can also network with other employers in the area who are offering work placements so that you can work together to offer the best experience for young people.
It can also be good for the future success of your company because you can boost your customer base, too. Customers like to purchase from companies that invest in the local community and offering work placements to young people is one way of doing this.
There are lots of other ways, too, in which you can get involved in your local community.
Boost Your Staff Morale
Offering T-Level work placements to young students can boost the morale of your existing team of staff.
Give positions of responsibility to staff by way of a buddy scheme or a mentoring programme where they can guide the student and show them how the company operates. This will make your staff feel valued and you could even spot leadership qualities in staff that you might not have previously considered for certain positions within the company.
Having a young person in the workplace can also boost morale and productivity if they are bringing new ideas and fresh ways of tackling projects.
As you can see, there could be lots of benefits to offering work placements to T-Level students. Get on board and help the next generation of young workers drive your industry forward.
