Government / EAMA Updates – T Levels
23 Mar 2023
Through BFPA’s membership of EAMA, we receive regular useful updates which may be of interest to members – a summary of a recent topic on T levels is found below.
T Levels in the spotlight
A new campaign to promote engineering and manufacturing T Levels gets underway this month. Firms are invited to attend events in Manchester and London and to otherwise acquaint themselves with how T Levels might fit into their workforce planning (links below).
T Levels are new educational qualifications in England. They are two-year, Level 3 courses for 16-to-19-year-olds who have finished their GCSEs and are intended to be roughly equivalent to three A Levels or a Level 3 apprenticeship. They will replace BTECs.
T Levels are 80 percent college teaching, 20 percent workplace learning – the reverse of apprenticeships. It is hoped that the qualification will be a starting point for apprenticeships and for engineering degrees. The first courses in the sector started last September, with modest numbers, and the ambition to increase intake for September this year and build from there.
The qualification is controversial and has had little support from the engineering and manufacturing sectors hitherto. Participating firms must take a student for 45 days, which can be shared with another company, and this has put off some firms which are used to managing either a short work-experience period or a full apprenticeship.
The construction and digital T Levels started more than two years ago, again with cautious uptake. At an event organised by the Department for Education, company speakers from those sectors spoke positively of their experiences and made clear their preference for day release rather than a 45-day block release, which may be preferred by many of the colleges.
It is for companies and the colleges to agree how the 45-day placements are arranged – and, so some extent, what they consist of. Some funding support may be available to firms to reflect the costs of the placement from funding allocated to the colleges.
For some firms, T Levels will be part of their recruitment strategy at a time when attracting recruits is difficult. For others, the motivation may be corporate social responsibility, or satisfying public sector customers, or gaining credibility with private sector customers.
T Levels are being introduced across the economy in England and the DfE has stressed the government’s commitment to them, although it is apparent that they will be more successful in some sectors than in others.
BFPA will be attending the 28th March event (below).
Please do let us have your feedback and comment on T Levels or on related subjects both positives and negatives – now and in the coming months – please send any comments to chris@bfpa.co.uk
Useful links:
Manchester event on March 28th T Level Workshop – Shaping the Future Engineering and Manufacturing Workforce (orcula.com)
Gov.uk: T Levels | The Next Level Qualification
T Levels and Industry Placement Support for Employers T Levels and industry placement support for employers
City & Guilds guide: T Levels – Technical education | City & Guilds (cityandguilds.com)
IfATE guide: Post-16 Technical Qualifications / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
Source: EAMA, GOV