Today, 18 August 2022, is the first ever T Level results day, where thousands of 18-19 year olds will be collecting their grades to these brand new technical courses after two years of hard graft. Yet two years after their launch, T Levels still don’t really register in the public’s knowledge and most employers that Supplytrain speaks to do not know that they can offer T Level students a lengthy industry placement similar to a Kickstart job or a Traineeship.  

In this blog we explain what a T Level is, what an industry placement is, why employers should get involved and how Supplytrain can help you for FREE in our capacity as a government-approved T Level Growth Partner.

What is a T Level?  

T Levels are new, two-year, technical courses for 16-19 year olds. They are not easy – in fact they are the equivalent to 3 A Levels and aimed at giving young people technical, work-ready, skills that UK businesses need. To secure a place on a T Level course young people must have also passed their GCSE English and Maths. 

Essentially, A Levels are ‘academic’ levels and T Levels are ‘technical’ levels. The content of a T Level course is rigorous, but less theoretical than A Levels, with more applied, employer-led learning.  

What is an industry placement?  

To really embed that applied learning, students must do an industry placement as part of a T Level. Industry placements aren’t short-term work experience where someone is gone just as they are starting to understand the work. Instead, industry placements are 45 days long. This means they could be a day a week for nearly a whole year! Working in a business for a sustained period gives students time to really practice tasks over and over again, get used to a workplace and see what it takes to succeed in their chosen career.

It is not easy for businesses in England at the moment, with rising costs and more job vacancies than job seekers for the first time in history! 

 What do employers get out of industry placements?  

Industry placements can help in the short-term, especially for small businesses where cash is king and profit margins are tight. Bringing in an extra pair of hands to support your social media, reply to emails, tidy up your CRM and carry out those £10 jobs – gives you and your team more time to focus on the big picture and the macro tasks.  

Industry placements help in the long-term too. With job vacancies at an all-time high and many companies struggling to recruit skilled workers since Brexit and post-Covid, industry placements are a great way to invest in tomorrow’s talent. Bringing someone in now, to get to know your business, learn your systems and company culture – with wages as optional – means you can develop people in-house, your way, before offering the best students jobs or higher-level apprenticeship at the end of their studies. 

The feedback from employers involved so far has been excellent.

How can Supplytrain help you understand T Levels for free?  

Supplytrain is approved by the Department for Education as a T Level Growth Partner. Our job is to give employers FREE impartial advice on industry placements and signpost you to a local school or college that can help.  

We can talk you through which types of tasks or projects you could offer, your responsibilities or other ways you can get involved in T Levels without committing to the 45-day placement. If we don’t cover your specific sector, we can also signpost you to other T Level growth partners that have your sector-specific knowledge.