T Level Thursday
#NAW24
Monday 5th February to Sunday 11th February 2024 is National Apprenticeship Week in the UK.
On Monday 5th February we celebrated Apprenticeships for all
On Tuesday 6th February we heard from our employers for Employer Tuesday
Wednesday 7th February was all about hearing from our incredible apprentices for Apprentice Wednesday
Today, you can learn about T Levels with placements in health and care for T Level Thursday.
Wait a minute... what are T Levels? And why are they being celebrated on National Apprenticeship Week?
T Levels are two-year technical programmes designed with employers that give students the skills that employers need.
The 'T' stands for technical and from 2020, T Levels have given 16- to 19-year-olds a technical alternative to A levels. One T Level is equivalent to three A levels.
We are celebrating T Levels on National Apprenticeship Week 2024 as they are a great alternative to A Levels and will enable you to complete a technical qualification with placement experience in the career you are aiming for. They are also a great step on the pathway to further degree-level apprenticeships.
T Levels are delivered by selected schools and colleges. They are taught full time and include an industry placement for a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days) which is delivered in an employment setting.
It's worth noting - although students will complete their industry placement in an employment setting, they will not be an employee and do not require to be paid.
T Level programmes will provide students with:
- broad knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary for employment in an occupation or industry related to their field of study
- an opportunity to develop specialist technical skills relevant to at least one occupation
- relevant maths, english and digital skills.
T Levels will also provide a progression pathway to skilled employment, higher or degree-level apprenticeships and higher-level education.
For those not ready to go directly on to a level three T Level qualification, a transition programme will be available. Find out more about the transition programme.
How do T Levels work?
A T Level programme is expected to take students around 1,800 hours over two years to complete, including the industry placement.
There is a full range of T Level courses available which will support the NHS including: Health, healthcare science, science, business services, childcare, digital, facilities management and HR. View the full list of T Levels and the occupations they can lead to on completion.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical education has developed a number of occupational maps for T Level programmes which show the skills, behaviours and core competencies required for industry roles. However, T Level students do not achieve full occupational competency through their industry placement in the same way that they would if they completed an apprenticeship. The industry placement is designed to provide a taster of the variety of roles available within a subject area.
Towards the end of their first year, students must select a specialism to follow, which enables them to focus their learning toward an occupation, such as physiotherapy or mental health nursing. The occupational maps outline career pathways for progression after completion of T Level programme to help with this decision.
The Department for Education has also introduced temporary flexibilities for T Levels to make sure industry placements remain deliverable and align with current working practices. The temporary flexibilities are only for the 2020 and 2021 cohort of students and plan to be withdrawn from 2023. Read the flexibilities guidance in full on the government website.
You can find out more about the structure of T Level courses and the stakeholders involved in developing T Levels from the Department for Education.
Hear from an employer...
"Here at East Kent Hospitals University Foundation Trust (EKHUFT), we launched our first Health and Social Care T Level industry placement in January 2023. We currently work with placement areas across two of our main hospital sites to help facilitate a positive placement experience for the T Level students. We have been well engaged with the placement areas and the feedback received has been positive.
Some of the challenges we noted when we started supporting T Level placements were the understanding of the students’ scope of practice and limitations when in the workplace.
This has required extra input from the practice development nursing team in collaboration with both student placement areas to ensure clarity and safety.
We have established a good working relationship with our education provider partner, East Kent College, and their T Level team. It is exciting to be working with a new academic partner.
We are now currently supporting our second cohort of T Level placement students. Following feedback from students and placement areas from the first cohort, we have agreed with East Kent College to trial block placements this year. We feel this helps consolidate the students learning.
Engaging in the T Level Industry placements has been very exciting. We like to consider these students as our future workforce.
The practice development nursing team have enjoyed working with the T Level students and look forward to the future development of the programme."
Karen Brewer, Practice Development Nurse, Workforce Development, Education and Training
and Jacqui Burlace, Practice Development Nurse for Work Based Learning
East Kent Hospitals University Hospitals Trust
Support for employers and education providers
If you are an education provider who is interested in delivering T Levels, this CPD module contains useful information about how to get started. It can also support with the delivery of the Health T Level curriculum, and enable you to support your students with their career choices with up-to-date information about healthcare careers structures.
If you are a health or care provider who is interested in facilitating T Level student placements, this CPD module can offer useful information about how to manage this within your organisation.
If you require more information or support with delivering T Levels with placements in health or care settings, the Academy are always available for support. Use the Get In Touch link at the bottom of the page to contact us.
The Strategic Development Network also offer T Level support to employers, with webinars and 1-2-1 support available to help you learn all you need to know about supporting T Level placements. Follow the link below to view their website and see what resources are available