As an Economics teacher I always say to my students: “Investment in human and physical capital fuels economic growth”. This, in my view, is what we are seeing T Levels do in practice.
With the continuing advancement of artificial intelligence, we know that the digital sector is a huge growth area. That’s why, in 2020, we decided to introduce the Digital T-Level.
When I saw the specification back in 2019 I knew this was very different from any course we had delivered before, as it was written by industry experts. I reached out to the businesses we worked with on our careers program, including ISG, EDF, and Comensura, and asked them to help. We also invited other schools and colleges to join us. Collectively, and with the support of the Education Training Foundation, we developed the curriculum.
We launched our first T Level offer in the Spring of 2019, accompanies by guest speakers from the Livery Companies, who have always been great champions for skills development in the City.
Then lockdown hit, and we had to get creative.
Our digital students worked on social media for Trinity Hospice, created an app for the Railway Delivery Group and worked remotely with small tech companies such as Vector. Finally, once restrictions were lifted, we were able to place our students with Lloyds Banking Group - and many of them work there now.
Our T Level alumni are our greatest ambassadors. In fact, one of our first Digital T Level graduates now supports the T Level placement program at Amazon.
Once we were able to see the social mobility that T Levels offered to our students, we expanded our programme to eight T Levels, and added a T Level Foundation Year.
We have found that employers are most willing to engage once you explain to them what a T Level is - and how it can help them with their skills shortage.
We worked very closely with ISG to prepare our T Level Construction students for industry placement, and the Construction Youth Trust is a fantastic organisation that offers employability workshops. These collaborations have enabled our students to progress onto apprenticeships at Berkeley and Overbury.
Our Health students have been working with Guys and St Thomas Hospital and they all have offers for Nursing and Midwifery at University or can progress to apprenticeships at the Hospital. Local primary schools have provided us with many placements for the T Level Childcare students. Many of the students have gone straight into childcare employment or have progressed to university to train as teachers.
Our T Level Legal students are now working with companies such as Fenwick Elliott and 3 Bolt Court. 5 We are really excited to be starting T Level Media and Craft and Design in September.
In my view, the most valuable piece of advice would be to prioritise collaboration with businesses and other providers when launching the T Levels.
My top tips for success:
Register to deliver T Levels, after which you will be allocated an AOC T-Level advisor.
Sign up for the ETF's Free T Level Professional Development (TLPD) offer
Use the Gatsby website to explain to pupils and parents what T Levels, and the Strategic Development Network to help employers understand T Levels.
Visit experienced T Level providers in your area.
When you host career events, speak to employers about T Levels, and invite employers to give sector-specific talks to your T-Level students.
Talk to your Alumni about T Levels
Appoint a Business Engagement Officer