How T Level skills revolution is being led by Barnsley College – Yiannis Koursis

The socio-economic impact of Covid-19 is complex. Between April and June, the number of people in employment fell by 220,000. The largest drop seen for over a decade, this does not include the millions of ‘inactive’ workers who are furloughed, on zero-hours contracts or on temporary unpaid leave.

Analysts predict worsening unemployment as the furlough scheme closes, forcing some businesses to cut jobs or close. Young people will be amongst the hardest hit.

On the brighter side, there are some early signs of recovery with hours worked in retailing, hospitality and construction having risen, and a 10 per cent rise in job vacancies as small businesses have taken on staff to help meet ‘Covid-safe’ guidelines.

T Levels present a significant new opportunity to address these issues, for employers and students alike. For Barnsley College, being chosen by the Department for Education as the only South Yorkshire provider, and one of only 54 in the UK, to deliver the first wave roll-out of 
T Levels (Technical qualifications) is extremely exciting. Our first courses are enrolling in Education and Childcare, Digital and Construction with a further 22 courses anticipated for 2021.

T Levels are a new two-year qualification developed in collaboration with employers, to give young people the skills that industries need. The qualifications offer students aged 16 to 18 a more technical alternative to A-levels, and feature a compulsory industry placement which will markedly improve a student’s readiness for employment.

Students will require at least 315 hours of workplace experience over the duration of their course. This gives employers an opportunity to work alongside the next generation of workers entering their industry and to influence the knowledge, skills and attitude they develop.

Accessing this new talent pool introduces new skills into the organisation and presents a fresh opportunity for growth and succession planning. At the most basic level, the employer can select the brightest talent at T Level stage and then develop that student with a higher level qualification or an apprenticeship in a specific job role. This has obvious benefits in terms of nurturing a loyal workforce, and the development advantages go further when existing staff are offered progression in the form of coaching, mentoring and management experience.

The industry placement allowance can also be shared by employers in order to provide the student with experience in a variety of roles within a business, or even other organisations such as partners within the supply chain. This is an approach taken by NHS employers who will allow T Level students to experience the breadth and depth of roles available, including shortage occupations and hard-to-fill roles, whilst supporting them in selecting a role in which to specialise.

As a first wave provider of T Levels, we have been granted additional funding from the Department for Education and Sheffield City Region LEP. This has been invested in the improvement of our facilities and the development of our digital curriculum in line with Barnsley’s ‘TechTown Five Year Action Plan’.

A major investment has been made in the refurbishment of our SciTech campus, transforming it into a new Digital Innovation Hub set to open its doors to students in September. The campus boasts cutting-edge technologies which will benefit students across all curriculum areas and prepare them for employment in an increasingly digitised world.

Employers who support 
T levels will make a conscious commitment towards sharing value with their local community and its young people. Their buy-in is critical to the success of the qualification going forwards. As they gain recognition at a local and national level, those who support T Levels will inevitably see rewards in the form of a stronger workforce and growth in a post-Coronavirus economy.

If you would like to find out more about T Levels, apprenticeships and other professional qualifications offered by Barnsley College, please contact our dedicated Business Development team at [email protected].

Yiannis Koursis is Principal and CEO of Barnsley College.

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