T Levels explained

Industry placements bring great benefits both short and long term. Short term benefits include raising the profile of local government as an employer, extra support with projects or services. You also contribute to the development of a young person. Placements are an excellent way of creating a recruitment pool for apprenticeships or other types of employment.

Organisations are now exploring new avenues to attract talent and ensure they have a workforce to deliver their services. T Levels are a crucial part of achieving this.

If you already do apprenticeships, industry placements are a great way of getting to know potential future apprentices early on, before they leave education. Apprentices can also be ‘buddies’ for industry placement students and act as mentors.

There are many benefits to placements, which are outlined in the LGA's 'T Levels and local government' publication. There are a range of benefits to both you and the young person.

The LGA’s T Level toolkit will equip you with the knowledge of your roles and responsibilities during industry placements.

In general, it’s not that different from taking on a temporary worker. It’s not all down to you and your organisation. The college or school you work with will take on many of the tasks involved in designing and delivering placements.

The LGA’s T Level toolkit includes resources that enable you to get the most out of the industry placement. This includes resources on developing a student workplace skills and engaging with a young person.

Students aren’t all that different from other new recruits. You may already have the resources and experience to support placements.

Your provider, such as a local college or school, will help as well, both to recruit the right students and support them before, during and after the placement.

There is no cost to hosting a placement. The emphasis is on learning and therefore you are not obliged to pay the student.

Your organisation will need to invest time in the T Level student, however, there are a range of benefits to this. Just like any new starter, you will need to look at creating an induction, and allocating tasks to the student. However, the student will then be able to get involved in tasks and engage with the services you offer.

The LGA’s T Level toolkit also includes resources available for you to utilise to ensure the induction is effective.

You can find providers delivering T Levels on the gov.uk website, via the following link:

Find a T Level school or college – T Levels and industry placement support for employers

Placements aren’t the same as job vacancies. There’s no commitment to offer students a job afterwards – although it’s great if this is a possibility. So, there’s no impact on headcount.

If you do decide to recruit, you may have saved significant resources by establishing the placement student’s suitability.

Some staff will be involved – but not many, and you choose who they are. The key people are a supervisor and/or mentor – they help students settle in and learn, just as they do for any new recruit or temporary worker.

This could be a great opportunity for your existing staff to develop their management skills. You shouldn’t need extra staff.

There are students available everywhere, including in rural areas, although you may need to think a bit more carefully about travel. Working with your provider will be important to ensure the student can attend the placement.

If the student is doing work that is normal business practice and you already have up-to-date Employer Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance, then you do not need additional cover.

Employers and colleges, schools or other providers, have legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010. This includes making reasonable adjustments for students who may be placed at a substantial disadvantage because of their disability compared with non-disabled people.

You will need to cooperate with your school or college to make sure that any legally required reasonable adjustments are provided.