Promoting the collaborative approach with a T Level industry placement

Farrat prides itself on going the extra mile in developing employees’ skills and knowledge as they seek out solutions to complex engineering challenges. So, taking on a T Level industry placement seemed like the perfect fit.  

Sally Moxon, People Director at Farrat shares her thoughts on how businesses and students alike can benefit from T Levels.

Offering young people the chance to develop

At Farrat we’re passionate about offering young people the chance to develop. One of our values as an organisation is that We Go Beyond the Job, caring for our colleagues, our communities, our future industry, and our environment.  

While our graduates benefit from applying what they have learned at university in the workplace, our apprentices get the benefit of learning their roles from scratch. We liked the idea of working with T Level students as they sit somewhere in between. T Level placements fill the gap within our early careers provision: the students add value to the business quickly because they have the technical knowledge. 

Our team got an immediate productivity boost from recruiting a T Level student. The student’s technical knowledge and experience benefitted the team, while addressing our desire for diversity of thought within the business. Welcoming young people who challenge our routine practices drives continual improvement and aligns with our commitment to diversity and innovation. 

The secret of a successful T Level placement

We invested the time to build a true partnership with our T Level provider and were fortunate to get the same level of commitment from the college in return. 

We worked with the provider to develop a deep understanding of our business, meaning both the placement staff and tutors know about us, and can select which students will fit best within our organisation and in the placements we’re able to offer. The tutors are willing to build aspects of our work into the work they’re doing with the students in the classroom, which has been fantastic to see. 

This collaborative approach is the linchpin in giving the right student the best experience during their work placement with us – an experience that is mirrored in the classroom. 

This would be my advice to other employers: do your due diligence. Choose a provider who is willing to get to know your business, and work with you to really make the placements meaningful for both the students and your business. 

How organisations can benefit from taking on a T Level student

A fresh pair of eyes can help our organisation to challenge what’s become ‘business as usual’ – and shake up our processes and procedures.  

Another obvious benefit for our business is the development of a talent pipeline, allowing the organisation to spend time with young people and see how they could benefit Farrat in the future. 

We also benefit from having additional resource within our team. It’s especially useful for those tasks our teams would do “if we had time”. With this added flexibility, our T Level placement students can tackle these issues, increasing their own knowledge and being able to support the business in a meaningful way. 

We tasked our recent T Level student with a project to research and propose a method for testing product capacity. The student took it on and developed a roadmap on how to take that forward. Having someone to take on important responsibilities and lighten the load for our team was a huge benefit for us. 

“A no-brainer”

The 23-24 academic year was our first year of hosting a T Level student. Across the organisation, we’ve seen how well this placement has worked. Taking on more T Level students next year feels like a no-brainer now. 

Our key takeaway has been to look at how we can expand our involvement with T Level placements across our business-wide functions, not just within engineering and manufacturing. 

We’re already exploring the possibility of taking on several student placements in other areas of the business in the next academic year. 

We’re also making sure we stay connected with our former students, so we can explore future employment opportunities with them when the time comes. 

To learn more about T Levels and how your business can benefit from taking on a T Level student, visit our dedicated Education Explained page.