Two years ago the government launched a new qualification for post-GCSE students in conjunction with firms in an attempt to ease the skills shortage and provide young people with direct and relevant workplace experience. The first students received their results last month. We find out how they got on

DfEducation

Source: Shutterstock

Every Person Counts logo_2 copy

鈥淚t has been amazing,鈥 one T-level student on a work placement with Morgan Sindall says. 鈥淚鈥檝e been enjoying it more than college,鈥 says another.

This is the first cohort of students to complete their courses and take the new exams, and they have now got some impressive results. Of the 207 candidates who took the design, surveying and planning for construction T-level, 93.7% of them passed.

Seven (3.4%) got the highest mark, a distinction star, while 67 (32.4%) got distinctions, 100 (48.3%) a merit and 20 (9.7%) were awarded a pass. Five males and two females were awarded the distinction stars, while 54 males and 13 females achieved distinctions, 96 males and four females got merits and 19 males and one female passed.

>>Discover more: Every Person Counts campaign

>>Also read: We should celebrate apprentices like every other graduate

T-levels are two-year courses launched in September 2020 which are taken after GCSEs and broadly equivalent in size to 3 A-levels. The courses have been developed in collaboration with employers so the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for entry into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or related technical study through further or higher education. A key aspect is that students must complete at least 315 hours (about 45 days) in the workplace, and the assessment includes an employer-set project.

The design, surveying and planning for construction course was co-designed by employers including EDF Energy, Morgan Sindall, Willmott Dixon and Miller Homes and allows students to go on to a range of jobs including civil engineering technician, building technician, and building control officer. The construction courses were expanded last year and again for new students starting this month.

Helen Clements NOT A STUDENT BUT QUOTED July 2022

Helen Clements, social value manager, Morgan Sindall

Helen Clements, social value manager at Morgan Sindall Construction, believes the secret of the success with the T-levels has been that students have put into practice what they have learnt in the classroom. She says that with, for example, the construction and built environment BTEC, the students did not get that insight into the workplace and did not discover whether construction was the right career choice for them.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a win-win all round,鈥 she says of the new qualifications. 鈥淭hey are not shadowing; they are working on live projects. We get to see if they will fit into our company culture and whether we suit them.

It鈥檚 a win-win all round. They are not shadowing; They are working on live projects. We get to see if they will fit into our company culture and whether we suit them

Helen Clements, Morgan Sindall 

The key to T-levels is that the employee is 鈥渆mbedded early on鈥, Clements says, although she points out that students must also be ready for hard work in the classroom. 鈥淵ou have to be academic to do it,鈥 she adds.

Danielle Haskings, senior social value manager at Willmott Dixon, agrees. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a difficult course,鈥 she says, but adds: 鈥淚t will weed out the people who think it鈥檚 going to be easy.

She says some people might have considered a construction qualification because they thought it would be less taxing than some other courses, but describes the T-level as 鈥渧ery academic鈥.

T-levels 鈥 the headline numbers

207 students took the design, surveying and planning for construction T-level

93.7% achieved a 鈥榩ass鈥 or above

7 got the highest mark, a distinction star

67 got distinctions

100 got a merit

20 were awarded a pass 

10% of the students who took the course were female

The good news is that this means the industry will end up with better-qualified surveyors and site managers. An apprenticeship, Haskings adds, where about 20% of the time is spent in the classroom, is a better option for trade jobs but T-level courses are 鈥渕ore relevant鈥 to construction. It means that students applying for trainee positions with firms will have better and more direct knowledge of construction compared with those who might have done science or maths A-levels.

When they start the placements, T-level students have already done a couple of terms in the classroom, Haskings says, so they have a good understanding of the sector before they go on work experience. 鈥淧eople who do this course want to go into construction,鈥 she adds.

The T-level is also a means of addressing the industry skills shortage, particularly in terms of sustainability knowledge within the sector, something that will be increasingly relevant as homes become more energy efficient. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the only course that covers those [sustainability] topics at the moment,鈥 Haskings says.

Every Person Counts

 

Every Person Counts logo_2 copy

 

 

Our Every Person Counts coverage provides a place where debates can play out, views can be aired and solutions shared. The industry has no shortage of suggestions for tackling the skills crisis, be it reforming apprenticeships, offering more flexibility, increasing diversity or providing better pathways from education to the workplace.

If you have an employment initiative you want to tell us about, email newsdesk@building.co.uk with the subject line 鈥淓very Person Counts鈥. You can also contact us via Twitter and LinkedIn @好色先生TVMagazine; please use the hashtag #everypersoncounts. We look forward to hearing your employment stories.

You can find all our Every Person Counts coverage in one place on our website.

Clements believes T-levels will create a better 鈥渃alibre of student鈥. She thinks more young people will do T-levels, not least because interest from colleges is growing as they are 鈥済etting good outcomes from students and results鈥. She also believes the course is improving employers鈥 links with colleges 鈥渂ecause they need us more鈥.

Clements says time in the workforce 鈥渆xtends the network鈥 for students. They will be out meeting people, including perhaps those from other firms 鈥 encounters which could lead to job opportunities in the future. Haskings corroborates this. As well as potential jobs with the firm where they do the placement 鈥 Willmott Dixon has taken on two of T-level students as permanent trainees 鈥 other students might be employed by supply chain firms. 鈥淢ore firms are reaching out about it,鈥 she says.

What appears certain is that the first students have enjoyed their time out of the classroom and have gained a lot from it. 好色先生TV services engineering and on-site construction were added to the list of courses last year. So it looks like T-levels are here to stay and the qualifications seem likely to go from strength to strength. 

So, what do the students say?

Matt Macalino

Studied at Bridgwater and Taunton College and did a placement with Willmott Dixon

Matt Macalino - T Level - Bridgwater & Taunton

鈥淚 have been shadowing the different people that work on a construction site in order to learn what their roles are and how they affect the construction project, which is important information to know when studying construction. As well as learning new information about the different people in construction, the support from the team has been incredible.

鈥淭hey keep me entertained whenever I am on site while also teaching me new things about the project.鈥

Annalise Page

Studied at Bridgwater and Taunton College and did a placement with Willmott Dixon

Annalise Page - T Level - Bridgwater & Taunton

鈥淭he work experience at Willmott Dixon has helped me to build confidence and helped me consolidate my knowledge of what I have learnt from college. It has been very enjoyable and the people are extremely helpful and friendly. I am hoping to go back to do some more soon!  

鈥淔or my T-level course I had to do a certain amount of work experience to achieve my qualification. I am so glad that Willmott Dixon has given me the opportunity to work with them.鈥

Harrison Hall

Did a placement with Morgan Sindall, working with the team on the Summerdown project in Eastbourne  

 

harrisonhall1_995139

鈥淲orking with Morgan Sindall has been amazing and has helped give me good insight into the industry which a classroom never could, and I am really enjoying it. T-levels provide you with classroom/theory work and real work experience.

 

鈥淚 chose to do a T-level because I feel the best way to learn is not just with theory, not just practical work, but a combination of the two, which the T-level does perfectly. In addition, T-levels are more specialised as I would have to take art, maths and physics without it to try and progress to university.

鈥淚 was drawn to Morgan Sindall because it is a larger company, and I feel like I鈥檝e learnt more here, being able to walk around the site and speak to real professionals than perhaps smaller companies on a smaller project could give me.

鈥淭he enjoyment has encouraged me to continue into a career in construction.鈥

Charlotte Barons

Exeter College, did a placement with Willmott Dixon and is now joining the company trainee scheme

charlottebaronstlevelexetercollege_894334

鈥淲illmott Dixon have been working closely with Exeter college and, luckily for me, they offered to provide me with a work experience place at the Innovation Centre in Taunton. Since going to work I have been shown around the site and have looked at all the plans, which has helped me understand how to read drawings better. That is something I would never have learnt or had the chance to see in college.

鈥淪ince working for Willmott Dixon I have been able to understand how a large site鈥檚 dynamics work and being able to watch and get involved with these is going to help me so much when moving on to the next stage with the trainee scheme.鈥

matthewshort_847211

Matthew Short

Studied at Truro and Penwith College

Matt took the T-level in design, surveying and planning because it offered multiple career options. He is going on to Bristol University to study building surveying and hopes to work for a surveyor鈥檚 firm in the future.

Tazivashe Makusha

Studied at Derby College   

tazivashemakusha_290873

Tazivashe, from Derby, studied a T-level in design, surveying and planning for construction at Derby College. Aged 18, he has wanted to become a structural engineer since he was young. He said: 鈥淚 enjoyed my T-level and the industry placement tremendously. The placement provided substance and practical application to what I was learning in college and provided me with a rough idea of the skills that employers look for in potential graduates.鈥

Tazivashe has secured a place at Nottingham Trent University to study civil engineering, with a placement year planned from this September. 

Matius Kaniusas

Did a placement with Morgan Sindall, working with the team on the Summerdown project in Eastbourne   

 

matiuskaniusas1_647993.png

鈥淲orking for Morgan Sindall has been a very enjoyable experience, and I have been enjoying it more than college. T-levels provide you with classroom/theory education while also gaining on鈥憇ite industry experience.

 

鈥淚 chose to do T-levels because I knew I wanted to work in the construction industry and a T-level was more specialised than A-levels, but also a higher level than the BTEC. I also liked the idea of getting industry experience. I was drawn to Morgan Sindall because it is a very large contractor and I believed I would gain more experience here than with a small local contractor. Every week I get to go out on site to see how much it has changed and what is going on.

鈥淚 have also completed quantity surveying, design and site management-related tasks. I have really been enjoying it and want to continue with a career in construction.鈥

Ed Grimshaw

edgrimshawtlevelexetercollege_95138

Studied at Exeter College, did a placement with Willmott Dixon and is now joining the company trainee scheme

鈥淗aving done a work placement with Willmott Dixon for six months, I have really got to grips with the way they work as a company. Everyone is very friendly and was always willing to help, whether with college work I did not understand or parts of the project I was working on that I didn鈥檛 quite understand.

鈥淗aving done work placements with multiple people within the business in different job roles, I can now see how they all interlink and how they all work together. But also it has given me a broader view of the industry and how much work goes into a project. This also gave me really good hands-on experience of each job role and what their day-to-day jobs are to give me a proper insight into each role.

鈥淚 found this placement very helpful as it allowed me to see more of the industry and, thanks to the placement, I was able to apply and be accepted on to their management trainee scheme starting in September.鈥