What are T Levels?
T Levels are two year technical programmes run in England that allow students to get real industry experience whilst they study for Secondary School age qualifications. They can often lead on to Apprenticeships, Technical qualifications or Higher Education qualifications.
Placements and core information
What are the key facts you need to know?
T Levels are an alternative Level 3 qualification to A Levels in England. They include study, exams and short work based placements. Students will also develop their Maths, English and Functional Skills.
They will spend 80% of their time in the classroom and 20% with an employer putting what they have learnt into practice.
Employers can work solo or as part of a group to offer placements and these can be completed either in 1 day or blocked time increments (or both).
An employer support fund is currently available from the government which can be used to support your costs for hosting students in your business.
You will need to provide:
- Up to 315 hours (45 days) of placement activities per student
- A mentor or manager to supervise the student
- Induction and training for the tasks being completed
- Feedback for the student after the placement.
Benefits for your business
T Levels provide a different pathway from traditional A Level qualifications and allow students to experience your business and sector.
T Levels are becoming increasingly popular with students with more than 20 course subjects now available.
Why are T Levels good for your business?
Taking T Level students into your business should be part of your long-term strategy as it can:
- Develop your pipeline of future Apprentices or Interns,
- Build skills and knowledge in your team
- Enhance your company reputation in the local area
- Ensure diversity of age, ethnicity and gender in your workforce
- Increase existing staff experience of mentoring young people
- Bring new ideas into your business from the next generation
Engineering, Manufacturing and Digital T Levels
Follow the links for each T Level to see more about each qualification and also find out the types of jobs that each qualification pathway could lead to.
Recruiting T Level Students
The first students will graduate from the Engineering & Manufacturing T Levels in the summer of 2024. Is your business ready to recruit these skilled & knowledgeable employees into your workforce?
DfE research suggests that 91% of learners will stay in their chosen T Level sector, either in direct employment or following a training pathway (including apprenticeships).
Make sure that you take advantage of this recruitment channel and plan how you can include T Level students or graduates in your workforce.
Recruiting T Level Students
The first students will graduate from the Engineering & Manufacturing T Levels in the summer of 2024. Is your business ready to recruit these skilled & knowledgeable employees into your workforce?
DfE research suggests that 91% of learners will stay in their chosen T Level sector, either in direct employment or following a training pathway (including apprenticeships).
Make sure that you take advantage of this recruitment channel and plan how you can include T Level students or graduates in your workforce.
Jargon Buster
How much do you know about T Level terminology?
Employer Support fund
The employer support fund is provided by the government and can be used to offset the cost of placements to your business
Provider
Providers are the educational institutions who manage the training qualifications for T Levels, such as a school or college. You'll need to work with them to arrange the placements.
Placement
Placements are the work based training activities that T Level students undertake, these take at least 315 hours and can be completed in 1 day increments or blocks of days
Courses
Just like for A Levels students must choose a course to study - there are more than 20 available with several specific to Engineering, Manufacturing and Data Science.
Accelerated Apprenticeship
T Levels can lead to an accelerated Apprenticeship because the learning a student has done on their T Level course can be taken into account later on.
Level
T Levels are level 3 qualifications in England, which is equivalent to A Level and other Technical qualifications.
Useful information and links - click the arrows to expand each section
EAL
This page from EAL provides general information on T Levels including information for employers, providers and learners.
It will help you find the support you need, offer you resources to help you plan how to work with T Level students and suggest events and webinars that you may want to attend.
Go to the EAL siteUK Gov website
Strategic Development Network
Understanding the Education Landscape
IfATE
NCFE - placement advice
Health and Safety & Insurance guidance
Understanding the Education Landscape & Career Pathways
We understand that the Education Landscape can be difficult to navigate. So we have developed the following documents to help you understand the range of courses and training options that are on offer as well as an overview diagram for each Nation. These Career Pathway diagrams could help you to develop your workforce training plans, and give you a better understanding the range of educational and career pathways open to your new recruits and existing employees.