The head of career management organisation Inspira has backed Furness College’s introduction of new T Levels from 2021.
From September next year, the college will offer four T Levels in Digital, Education & Childcare, Health and Science across its campuses at Channelside and Rating Lane.
T Levels combine classroom theory, practical learning and a 45-day industry placement to give students real experience of the workplace.
Chief Executive of Inspira Mark Bowman welcomed the move as a great addition for young people in the area.
“We are delighted to see that Furness College is among some of the first providers in the country to offer the new T Levels qualifications,” he said.
“We work with young people in Cumbria who are at risk of or are NEET (not in employment, education or training) therefore more often than not unsure about their education and future careers, so the addition of the T Levels for these pupils and those who are interested in technical subjects is a good option and a great addition to the education offered across the county.”
The T Level as a qualification is equivalent to 3 A Levels and can lead to further education, university, and employment. The college is now liaising with schools across Barrow, South Lakes and Copeland with a series of virtual presentations planned for Year 11s about studying T Levels from 2021.
Kendal College will offer T Levels in Health & Science and Construction while Lakes College will run T Levels in Digital, Construction, Education & Childcare and Health & Science.
Speaking about the opportunities the new qualification will bring, Principal and Chief Executive Professor Andrew Wren said the new suite of T Levels will help meet the needs of the local business community and offers a clear and equal choice between technical and academic education post-GCSE.
“T Levels are only awarded to colleges that can clearly demonstrate both the skills to deliver these technical qualifications and a higher level of working with employers. We know that there is a need for greater skills in digital, health and child care, and education and science – where four out of five emerging jobs need high level digital technical skills.
“This will bring technical qualifications into parity with A Levels, which are offered at our sixth form campus, with T Levels being much more focused on industrial placements and technical understanding.
“We know there is a need for more people in Cumbria to achieve higher qualifications in digital, education and health and this offers a chance to do this.
“We’re already well-known for the quality of our technical engineering qualifications at our £47million world-class campus and we will look to offer those as T Levels in coming years.”
Furness College is looking for organisations from all sizes and sectors to get involved in the industry placements.
Students on industry placements bring with them enthusiasm, good subject knowledge and skills to support businesses and after 45 days they can hit the ground running as an employee.
For more information about partnering with the colleges on the T Level industry placement contact the college or email tlevels@furness.ac.uk
