Students ‘blamed’ for not finding T Level industry placements, research finds

Industry placements are a major draw to T Levels for students but their “reality” has been “polarising”, with some learners blamed when work experience could not be secured, a report has found.

A ‘student voices’ report released by The Edge Foundation today to mark the government ‘T Levels Celebration Week’ drew on focus groups with 210 T Level students who began their courses in 2022 and 2023 and interviews with 24 college staff.

It found that many concerns raised in an Ofsted review of T Level students’ experiences who started in 2020 and 2021 – such as being “misled” onto the course, teachers struggling with content and disorganised placements – continue to exist.

Here are some of the key findings:

Work placements are a major draw

Each T Level includes a mandatory industry placement with an employer that must total 315 hours or 45 days.

Researchers found that this component was a “key motivator” for most students in signing up for the qualification.

Participants were “excited by the idea” that around 30 percent of the course was dedicated to work placements. They believed this would enhance their employability, give them valuable industry experience, and help their CVs stand out. 

One student mentioned that a T Level course seemed “more professional” because of the work placement, which made it “more appealing” than a BTEC. 

Students told researchers placements provided “valuable real-world experience” that helped them build confidence and communication skills.

They also helped them gain a “clearer vision” of which roles they preferred within the career path of their T Level.

But reality of placements was ‘polarising’

However, a “high proportion” of students felt “frustration and stress” over delays in securing the required placements.

There was confusion over whose role it was to secure the placement, with colleges struggling to guarantee when or where placements would be, and some students described being blamed for not securing placements themselves.

The local labour market also played a role, as “small-town areas” lack businesses willing to take on work placements.

Researchers found the “reality” of student work placement experience was “polarising for students, and placements did not always live up to the expectations set during induction”.

About half of students also said there was a “mismatch” between their expectations and the tasks they were given during placements.

One business, management, and administration T-level student expressed disappointment with “little grunt work,” such as sweeping up.

Other students echoed this “disappointment,” questioning whether they would have chosen the T Level had they known how “disorganised the course and placements would be.”

Students felt ‘misled’

The report said a lack of understanding or awareness about the qualification before they enrolled was a “recurring theme” from focus groups.

An “overwhelming majority” of T Level students said they would have considered taking BTECs, apprenticeships or other level 3 qualifications.

Many said they were “channelled” onto a T Level course, with “little information” about the structure or content of the course, leading to “mixed experiences”.

Some came to regret this after experiencing issues with their course’s delivery or late allocation into a work placement.

The report said that “many” students “felt misled in some respect”.

Students “lacked clarity” on key aspects of the T Level course, including the “balance between practical and theoretical learning, future opportunities, and the quality of work placements”. 

Teaching delivered by unqualified teachers

The experiences of studying T-Levels were “highly variable,” depending on the college’s expertise, staffing, and teaching strategies.

Researchers wrote: “Students felt that the quality of the course was substantially influenced by the tutors’ expertise.

“This was often hindered by high tutor turnover and variability in tutors’ teaching styles, partially due to the limited past papers and resources to prepare students for assessments.”

Staff issues meant that there were sometimes periods without appropriately qualified teaching staff at all, as well as a higher workload for existing staff who took on the additional burden of absent staff, the report said.

Much of this variation in quality may be due to the “newness” of the course rather than an issue with the course itself, researchers added.

The majority of students noticed improvements as staff and colleges gained experience.

Huge content

Almost all students felt their tutors relied on PowerPoint presentations to deliver lectures on theory in a short period of time “leaving less room for interactive learning”.

Tutors agreed the scope of the courses were “huge”, partly because of the focus on substantive assessment in the first year.

Some felt this affected how accessible the course was compared to other level 3 courses, impacting learners’ motivation.

Tutors appeared to focus on content delivery because assessment “looms large” over the course.

Main destination of choice is uni

More than 70 per cent of T Level students told researchers they wanted to go to university.

Apprenticeships, work and “undecided” were the other most popular destinations for students.

Researchers noted the strong contrast between the popularity of the university route and the “initial policy intention” of T Levels – to prepare young people for work or an apprenticeship.

However, those wanting to attend university often wanted to pursue specialised careers such as nursing, teaching or business.

“Relatively few” students planned to enter employment without further education or training first.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Our mission is to break down barriers to make sure young people get the skills they need to seize opportunity and kickstart great careers in the most in-demand sectors.

“We welcome the report’s positive findings, particularly that students have enjoyed and benefitted from the hands-on experience gained through industry placements, which are a unique selling point of the T Level.

“Learning from the early phases of rollout, we continue to make changes to T Level delivery.

“This has included expanding the resources available to teachers through the T Level Professional Development Programme and just this week announcing additional flexibilities to industry placements.”