T Levels done right can enrich learner experience and boost career prospects - Frances Gouldsborough
One of the biggest draws of T Levels has been the promise of an industry placement, allowing learners to gain experience in the industry they are hoping to one day join. A T Level includes a mandatory industry placement with an employer that must total 325 hours, or 45 days - roughly 30 per cent of their course.
And this chance to gain real-world experience, and so stand out in an increasingly competitive workforce, is often the main reason learners choose this route over a purely classroom-based, academic path.
These placements also help to build confidence and communication skills, as well as providing valuable insights into the various roles within their chosen career path.
First, however, students need to actually be offered the quality placements they were promised - and that is where, for too many, things have been going wrong.
A recent Student Voices report from The Edge Foundation, based on feedback from 210 T Level learners plus college staff, found high levels of dissatisfaction. Many students reported feeling they had been ‘misled’ onto their course, and had suffered from frustration and anxiety while waiting for their delayed placements to be secured.
There was also a damaging lack of clarity over whose job it actually was to arrange work placements, with some learners - shockingly - reporting being blamed for not taking on the task themselves. And a particular problem has been highlighted in ‘small-town areas’, where a lack of businesses that are willing or able to take on placements is creating major obstacles.
Around 50 per cent of students reported a big disparity between their expectations and the reality of their placements, too - finding themselves doing ‘grunt work’, such as sweeping up, rather than being given tasks relevant to their study.
The report also documents how teachers have been struggling to deliver massive amounts of content and relying on powerpoint presentations, rather than interactive learning, due to the pressures of having first year assessments with T Levels. A high turnover of tutors, meanwhile - a problem that is plaguing the whole of Further Education - was cited as being ‘a huge issue for the quality of delivery’.
Despite all of those issues, T Levels remain an attractive proposition that, when done right, can really enrich the learner’s experience and career prospects.
For many learners across the country, including ours here at Leeds City College, there is a much more positive story to tell.
Health T Levels, for example, had well documented issues when they were first introduced, but are now on a much better footing - and our students have had no issues securing placements. That’s thanks to their teachers building strong networks with healthcare providers in Leeds that are keen to work with learners who will one day form part of their workforce.
This year alone our students have been placed with Leeds and York Partnership Trust, Leeds City Council Recovery and Community Hubs, Leeds NHS Community Trust and Leeds Teaching Hospital Trust.
And we are repeating this pattern across our other T Level courses too, including in Digital and IT, Education and Early Years, and Engineering and Manufacturing where our strong industry connections are reaping benefits.
T Levels are still a fairly new qualification and, as such, have suffered their share of teething problems. It is sad to hear how many students have had their initial optimism dented due to a lack of placements and a high turnover of teachers, but what is important moving forwards is to learn from these mistakes.
Frances Gouldsborough is head of health science and social care at Leeds City College, which is part of Luminate Education Group.