'T-Levels are vital if we are to power progress through skills' - college boss Lisa Capper

This autumn, young people have taken the next step in their learning-journey. Some are continuing with their academic studies, and others have chosen a technical or vocational route or started an apprenticeship.

With rising numbers of young people who are NEET (not in education, employment or training) reaching a million in England, an increase in their mental health issues, and a crisis in graduate jobs, there has never been such a vital time for young people to make the right choice.

This week is T-Levels Week, aimed at highlighting the importance of the qualification and their wide availability.

At Sandwell Colleges, with our three colleges and several campuses in the Black Country and Birmingham, we offer a wide range of academic, vocational and technical pathways from entry to level 5.

Alongside our A levels and BTECs, we have a large T-Level provision, a new pathway that provides deep and valuable industry exposure. With a 45-day industry placement, a T level (equivalent to A-Level) provides both academic and technical exploration of an industry area, an employer-set project and first-hand experience of the world of work.

Close to 100 per cent of our 600+ T-Level students go on to good jobs or on to university to gain a degree. Our current and past learners speak about experiences of the world of work as life-changing, and we ought to listen to them. We work with talented, bright, and ambitious young people who need an opportunity.

They tell me that a work placement at the right time motivated them to gain the credentials they needed to progress, and many have gone on to bright futures.

Like many, one student recently interviewed commented: “I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I left school, but having begun a T level and undertaken a clinical placement, I have truly loved every minute, I have found ‘myself’ and am now working hard to ensure my future career with the NHS.”

Another said: ‘I thought I was going to work in my uncle’s garage. I have had my eyes opened. I am now a full-time qualified young engineer in an exciting business.

T Levels sit alongside traditional A-Levels and deserve the same recognition and respect. As our new Prime Minister has made clear in plans to tackle NEETs, young people and employers need an education system that works for them: one that excites and motivates at an early age and offers genuine progression into skilled employment or higher education, and which creates a balanced choice.

Skills built around real industry need

Working closely with the Mayor and Local Authorities on the region’s Growth Plan, our education and skills pathways are designed to meet need in the growth sectors.

Together with employers we want to shape a skills system that will drive our local economies and social inclusion.

Our specialist Skills Hubs, and partnering with the new Technical Excellences Colleges in the region, span critical demand areas such as Construction, Engineering, Health and Social Care, Creative and Digital. We work to engage and support employers and business, shaping curriculum and creating pathways directly with those businesses that have skills shortages and which in the future will increasingly employ our students.

Facilities that match the ambition

Our colleges boast industry standard equipment, industry-supported teaching, and pioneering facilities. Our new Learning Campus in partnership with the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust gives students an on-site and immersive, clinical environment with many students going on to take up jobs and careers in the NHS and related industries.

Our specialist engineering facility in West Bromwich offers the same real-world grounding for the next generation of young, qualified engineers. We are thrilled to have recently been awarded a coveted Kings Enterprise Award for our work experience programme Get Further, where we have worked alongside HydraPower Dynamics and others to develop a pipeline of young engineers.

Collaboration is powerful and it must be matched by a shift in mindsets to recognise the value of vocational education, and to ensure parents, employers and advisers can champion those pathways. Every young person, regardless of background or starting point deserves access to education and training that inspires them, opens their eyes to available careers, and ensures progression to reach them.

As a place-based anchor institution celebrating 40 years of success and flanked by a history of technical skills across the Black Country and our great City of a 1000 trades, the Sandwell Colleges continue to create impact far beyond the campus walls.

We are committed to playing our part in driving growth, helping to attract inward investment and returning prosperity to the communities we serve.

Get in touch if you want to join our mission.