North West Companies pledge a thousand T-Level work placements
ByRichard Stead
A special initiative is underway in Greater Manchester, where companies have pledged to offer hundreds of "quality work experience placements" to over a thousand young people. This initiative aims to provide students with T-Levels, which focus on technical skills and are equivalent to three A-Levels, with a 45-day industry placement.
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is working with local colleges and businesses to make more T-Level work placements available. This comes as a response to concerns about drop-out rates, with a 2024 report by the Education Policy Institute finding that nearly a third of first-year health and science T-Level students dropped out.
Dylan Nomovi, a 17-year-old from Middleton, has begun a placement at IBM, praising the company's welcoming atmosphere and the support he received. Nomovi, who is studying for a T-Level in digital software development, believes that the program offers the best of both worlds, combining workplace experience with education.
Ella Tsui-Lau, an assistant principal at Manchester College, emphasizes the importance of quality education and employer partnerships in retaining students on T-Level courses. Leon Butler, the Chief Executive of IBM in the UK and Ireland, highlights the skills development of students, including e-commerce website development and programming with HTML, as well as the introduction to business environments and corporate practices.
T-Levels are available to young people after their GCSEs and were launched in 2020, with a balanced 80% classroom learning and 20% industry placement. The courses last for two years, but concerns about drop-out rates persist. The Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, a technical alternative to the English Baccalaureate, is being rolled out with strong links between colleges and local firms, aiming to provide a clear path to high-quality jobs in growing sectors of the local economy.
Declan Brooks, a 16-year-old studying digital software development, found the T-Level program attractive due to its guaranteed placement at companies like IBM. He hopes to start his own business after college, emphasizing the importance of gaining practical experience in the workplace.
