T Levels and career paths

Technical education is proving a big draw for school leavers with dozens opting to study the new suite of T Levels offered by Furness College from September 2022.

T Levels are a two-year technical qualification available to Year 11 pupils after their GCSEs and offer a technical alternative to A Levels. They feature a compulsory industry placement with a local employer to support the development of employment and work skills increasing a student’s chance of future employment.

Furness College is among a number of education providers nationally to successfully roll out T Levels, which offer 80 per cent classroom learning with a 20 per cent placement.

Sue Hannan, the college’s Assistant Director for Curriculum who leads the T Levels programme, said it was proving popular with lots of enquiries at the recent college opportunities fair.

“T Levels are an alternative route to employment but they also carry UCAS points for students who want to go to university after college,” she said.

“For Year 11s who know which industry they want to work in, but are not ready to choose a specific job, a T Level offers the core skills needed in the sector. The industry placement also enables them to make an informed choice about whether an employer is right for them.”

The most popular courses so far are Health and Engineering and Manufacturing with applications also coming in for Education & Childcare, Digital and Science T Levels.

The college is partnering with University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust and local schools for the Health and Education industry placements and is collaborating with national and local engineering companies as the T Level placements start to be established.

“While there is a strong place for academic study through A Levels, we can also see from our current cohort that a T Level student is a bright, capable young person who is clear on their career choice and how to get there.

“The benefit of the industry placement is that the employer can see the capabilities of the student and look to grow their future workforce using talented young teenagers from our local area.”

Here is a run through of the courses the college offers and what careers they can lead to:

Digital: This T Level is suitable for anyone interested in software production and design and could land you a job as a computer games developer, software developer and even a data analyst statistician.

Health: This gives the skills to be successful in a range of frontline health occupations including; nursing, midwifery, paramedic, care work and associated roles, and the opportunity to practice on artificial intelligence patients in the college’s high-tech new clinical skills suite.

Healthcare Science: This T Level gives students a general understanding of health and science and further knowledge of human anatomy and physiology, diseases and disorders, genomics and medical physics leading to careers/further study in pathology, radiography and physiotherapy.

Education and Childcare:  With industry placements in local primary schools, students with this T Level qualification can progress into primary teaching at university, learning mentor role or options such as special educational needs assistant or apprenticeship.

Engineering and Manufacturing: Taught in the college’s £4million Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Centre at the Channelside campus, students will have the choice of two specialist pathways either Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This T Level leads to higher and degree apprenticeships, university and employment as engineering technician or similar

For more information about T Levels contact Furness College on 01229 825017 or email tlevels@furness.ac.uk