T Levels case studies and resources

Paul Scott from Bradford Council shares his experience of hosting a T Level industry placement in his department.  

We also meet Nick who shares his experience of a T Level industry placement at Bradford Council. 

Paul video transcript 

LGA: Why did you decide to take on a T Level industry placement?

Paul: We've got a big project that we've been working on which is quite intensive man hours. We were looking anyway to see if we could get someone in on a part-time basis to support with that. Then this came along, and then we looked at it, we had a chat with the college. Went backwards and forwards a little bit in terms of the qualifications. The initial qualification that we thought would suit this role, there was nobody available. Then they showed us Nick's profile, and they seemed to think that he would get a lot out of this from the day-to-day stuff. So we had a look at that, saw his CV, had a quick chat, and then yeah he's come along. So he's done great. 

LGA: Which teams has the placement worked with at Bradford Council? 

Paul: So well over 80% of the Bradford schools use our connectivity. We have a technical support team who do in-school visits, technical-wise, and Nick's been on one of those, had a look around the schools. So I thought I'd try and get him used to different environments, different places, and obviously meeting new people. He was very good, dressed very smartly. He handled himself really well in that situation, the school environment. And then the service that we do is consultancy and support for the computing curriculum in schools, predominantly primary schools. But then we work on a lot of digital-based projects. So we do filmmaking activities, animation, a lot of creative stuff. 

At the moment the big project that we're delivering is for children's services within the council. So back in the early days of Covid, when we had the first lockdown, the DfE provided a lot of devices to councils to enable the children who didn't have devices at home, or vulnerable children, to have access. So we were given just short of 2,000 devices that we had to set up completely, and we manage those. Since then, the council's children's services have put money into that because they want to maintain that. And we've got the devices out. And it's a big project, and it's very time consuming as well, in terms of some of the other projects we're doing. 

So Nick's come in and he's helped us deliver that project. So he's had a remit of what he's got to do, he's learned to self-manage. He knows, when he first came in he was sort of asking questions quite a lot which is good, because some people sit there and they don't do that. And now he's got to the point where he comes in in the morning, he knows what he's got to do, he can crack on with it. So from that perspective that's been fantastic for us. He's taken a lot of pressure off my main technician who can focus on some of the high-level projects that we've sort of had to put on the back burner. And we've managed to catch up there with some of the project deadlines that we wanted to do. So it's been great for us. 

LGA: What skills has the industry placement brought to the role?

Paul: He's been great. He's been very professional, very diligent. You know, he talked about his own time keeping. I've got three kids in my family. Two went on and did A Levels, degrees. The other one went to college, so I understand what he's going through there. Placements like T Level placements, I think are great. Because you don't have to get a degree and go down that route to be successful and have a highly fulfilled job. So that was good from our perspective. 

Again, just having someone with a bit of youth. We're sadly all 40+ in my team at the moment and we do work with children on a regular basis which is great. To just have somebody young, you know, a bit of enthusiasm, that bit of energy, that - you see a different side of life and you're talking generally about things, you understand some perspectives better as well. I say, he's come in, he's understood the role, he's been very punctual. No trouble at all. Dedicated, keen to learn - he's been a massive asset. We'll miss him when he's gone, I have to say. 

You've got to make sure that you get the right student, the right employer together so that it fits well. As Nick alluded to that - I think he's found it really useful. I think that fact we're in education anyway, we're used to working with children his age and younger, has enabled us to understand and engage with them, I think some employers don't have experience of. But having said that, we've found him fantastic. As I've said, it's enabled us to crack on with several projects, free up time for other projects, and have a light-hearted bit of banter with a young lad around the office which is no bad thing anyway. 
 

Nick video transcript

It's definitely taught me a bit of time keeping because I've had to adjust to the routine of, like, getting the bus on a morning and getting to work for a certain time. 

It's also taught me a bit about my work ethic, so about if I get a certain number of devices done and not lazying about. It's also taught me about my confidence as well, because when it comes to meeting new people, I'm quite shy. But everybody here has been incredibly patient and friendly, and I've felt very comfortable here. 

I would recommend it in general because it is a really good experience to have that long-term, a bit like a practice run basically. 

Alan Galloway (Early Careers Officer) talks about T Levels and the early careers strategy at Hillingdon Council and how it creates a pipeline of talent for the council workforce. 

View Hillingdon Council's post 16 prospectus 2022/23.

Hillingdon video transcript 

My name's Alan Galloway. I work for the London borough of Hillingdon and I'm the apprenticeship lead and early careers lead. 

LGA: How have you incorporated T Levels into your early careers strategy?

Alan: We've just written our first ever early careers strategy covering apprenticeships, T Levels, work experience, pretty much anything that would support anyone 16+. And it links in to our prospectus which we've just designed as well ith our education team, which is a really impressive document. 

It just covers everything that a person leaving school would need to know, in terms of where they can go, in terms of education, apprenticeships, T Levels, work experience etc. 

So we're really pleased with that and we've been sharing that with all of our schools within the borough and it's been well received. 

LGA: How do you promote Hillingdon Council as an attractive local employer?

Alan: Careers fairs, we've had parents evening, we've had specific events for particular years across Year 7 to 11 and above, into 6th form. Parents' evenings, 6th form evenings. So it's been a really good piece of work. 

We've also been invited in to give specific talks to students around what apprenticeships can bring, what T Levels can bring. And also giving them some advice really about how to apply for jobs, CV support, interview techniques.

So we're doing a really nice piece of engagement with the schools and that links nicely back to our early careers strategy. 

LGA: Which T Level industry placements are you hosting at Hillingdon? 

Alan: We've just recently held some really good interviews and that has resulted in us appointing six T Level students. Some of them are on a digital programme, some are on business management. And we've managed to secure them into different parts of our business. So there'll be one in learning and development which is my area. We've got performance, business admin, housing and education. 

So the girl who's coming into our business, we're going to be getting her involved in a lot of our careers events with schools and 6th forms. So on day one we'll be taking her to a local school. She'll be helping us to discuss with the students. We've got that link with someone more their age and their generation. The Gen Z people that we keep hearing about who are really forward and they know what they want. They want things done instantly. We need to tap into that so that we give a really good impression to these students to make sure that they're interested in coming to work for us. We don't want to just put a programme on that says come and work for us, we'll get you to do some scanning and photocopying, and all the mundane stuff. We really want to get them into some good pieces of work. 

LGA: How will T Levels improve the diversity of your workforce?

Alan: Like a lot of authorities we're an ageing profile, unfortunately, and we do need to improve that. So we're really identifying at the early stages, trying to get those numbers up. 

We did some data crunching recently and we noticed that our average age had gone down on average by about two years. We need to run that data again 'cause I know that we've taken on quite a number of new apprentices. So hopefully that is continuing that trend. 

We're also looking, where possible, to have local residents working for us who live and work in the borough. So that's another key, sort of, performance indicator or target that we'd like to continue to improve upon. 

LGA: How have you worked with managers to support T Level industry placements?

Alan: We've been quite smart and we've tried to approach teams where we know it will be successful. So we've targeted teams that have previously taken on apprenticeships or people on work experience. 

So we know we've got managers in there who know how to manage apprenticeships and maybe T Level students who are possibly the younger generation. So we've targeted business admin, performance teams where we know we've got apprentices and the managers in there are very good at supporting those areas. 

We know there will be challenges. We're trying to mitigate those by targeting specific teams. We've gone in with quite small numbers. We've said all along we don't want to, sort of, knock the business over. We've got a lot of apprenticeships already, you know, if we bring in T Levels they might say it's too much. So we're going with six and, as I've said, we've targeted those groups because we know there's some real good managers in there. 

We've also given them some support tools in terms of webinars that have been made available to us through the LGA. And we're also putting all of our managers onto the mentoring programme that's been put together by Gatsby. So all of our managers will be going through that process as well so that they know exactly what is expected of them. 

I guess one of the key challenges going forward will be for us to ensure that we make the programme interesting, exciting, engaging, so that the students are meeting their knowledge, skills and behaviours as part of that programme. And obviously we'll be having regular reviews with the college and the students. They can talk to us at any time. 

Watch our interview with Richard Bartlett, Head of Development & Operations at Leeds City Council, who talks about his experience with hosting T Level placements.

In the following video T Level students talk about their industry placements at Leeds City Council and what they gained from it.

Leicester sees T Levels as an entry to employment for young people. The council has used learning from apprenticeships and the Kickstart Scheme to put in place robust systems and support for team managers and students undertaking industry placements.

Leicester City Council: T Levels as an entry to employment

Tower Hamlets Council faced the challenge of an ageing workforce and was eager to attract younger talent. They identified the T Level programme, as a valuable tool for supporting succession planning.

London Borough of Tower Hamlets: Using T Levels to address an ageing workforce challenge

In the following video you can find out about a day in the life of an Early Years Practitioner at North Lincolnshire Council.

Akkdus Khan, Learning and Development Commissioner from Oldham Council, speaks about his experience of taking on four Digital T Level students.

‘Grow our own’ is an important ethos at Somerset Council. T Level placements are one element of a variety of early career routes into the council, and T Level opportunities are making the council an attractive local employer to young people.

Somerset County Council: An employers' perspective on T Levels

Interview with Ian Hall, Highway Technician, Sunderland City Council who took a T-Level:

I took a T-Level because I wanted to pursuit a career in civil engineering and I knew that a T-Level would give me an upper hand on other applicants for apprenticeships. Sunderland City Council helped me develop my knowledge about civil engineering and gave me a good understanding of the technical skills needed from an employer.

The T-Level at Sunderland City Council also gave me the opportunity to learn on the job, meaning I wasn’t in a classroom all of the time and I could get an understanding of work life.

At the end of my T-Level I was able to apply for an apprenticeship and use everything I had learned to get a job.

Manager, Graeme Hurst, giving Sunderland City Council's perspective on what having a T Level student did for the council:

Following an unsuccessful apprentice recruitment process we were subsequently contacted by Sunderland College to see if we would be interested in taking a student for the trial industry placement scheme. We were advised this consisted of 315 hours over the course of the academic year, generally one day a week for approximately 42 weeks. We were in the position at the time to offer no placements and so we interviewed potential candidates and offered the placements accordingly.

We found that as opposed to a standard week-long placement, the students could gain a much better appreciation of the varied work we do in the Infrastructure and Commercial Section as well as gain valuable hands on experience in a workplace environment. 

The advantage of having such an extended placement meant the students could run with a project from inception through to design and finally implementation, having been involved in all the differing processes that are used throughout the whole life of a particular scheme.

As well as hands on experience the students gained essential interpersonal skills and confidence in working in a professional environment whilst taking ownership of their respective projects with all the responsibilities it required. Both the students are now employed full time as highway technicians.

As a prospective employer we were delighted to increase our resource pool of potential future candidates for full time employment that have the necessary skills and experience we were looking for.

Graham Hurst, Sunderland City Council

#TeamWigan is creating opportunities for young people through the delivery of high quality industry placements.

Wigan Council – Developing a talent pipeline through T Level industry placements

Daniel Dowd, Establishment Manager in Adult Health and Social Care at Wigan Council, and T Level student Lou, talk about their experience of T Level industry placements:

Wiltshire Council hosted Health T Level industry placements in partnership with the Integrated Care Board to highlight the career opportunities available in social care.

Wiltshire Council: partnership T Level placements

Education Partnership North East provide a range of T Levels and have successfully worked with Sunderland Council and local businesses to produce successful outcomes.

Education Partnership North East: A provider's perspective on T Levels

• T Level industry placements employer guide: to help organisations understand how to host an industry placement. It includes details on what is expected of employers during a placement.
• Dudley Council’s perspective as an employer: Rose Penn, Strategic OD Business Partner, Dudley Council (slideshow presentation)
• What does good look like/what constitutes a good placement: Lauren Hutchinson, Employer Readiness Team, Department for Education (slideshow presentation)

Film links

• T Level industry placements: what employers say
• T Level industry placements: business & administration, YMCA
• T Level industry placements: manufacturing, Warren Services
• T Level industry placements: science, University of Salford
• T Level industry placements: animal care, Somerset Reindeer Ranch
• T Level industry placements: digital, Norfolk County Council
• T Level industry placements: catering & maintenance, Marriott Hotels
• T Level industry placements: education, Ganton School
• T Level industry placements: construction, Galliford Try Partnerships
• T Level industry placements: hair & beauty, Daniel Galvin
• T Level industry placements: legal, CMS  
• T Level industry placements: media, BBC Voices

• T Levels and industry placement support for employers
• T Levels: Skills for life
• Resources for employer engagement with T Levels
• Subtitled presentation introducing employers in local authorities to T Levels and industry placements and explaining the support available