Apprenticeships and T-Levels
During an apprenticeship, you’re employed to complete a real job whilst studying for a formal qualification. This usually comprises of 4 days at work to 1 day of studying or training at a college or training centre. By the end of your apprenticeship, you will hopefully have gained the skills and knowledge needed to either succeed in your chosen career or progress onto the next apprenticeship level.
You will be paid as you complete your apprenticeship, which gives you an opportunity to earn as you Learn. Apprenticeships are good to give you real experience of a work place and the skills needed within them however, you need to be prepared that you will be expected to act and behave in the same manner as full time employees and be ready for the expectations this will bring.
Apprenticeships can again be offered at either Level 2 or Level 3 subject to your experience and current level of qualifications. Some colleges will offer apprenticeship courses but generally apprenticeships are down to you to find.
More information on apprenticeships can be on the links below:
https://amazingapprenticeships.com/
https://www.gov.uk/topic/further-education-skills/apprenticeships
https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship
http://www.apprenticeshipguide.co.uk/
T Levels
T Levels are a new, two-year technical education course for students that follow GCSEs. This have been developed alongside employers and include a mixture of classroom learning (80%) and ‘on-the-job’ experience (20%) during an industry placement of t least 45 days. The T Levels comprise of mixture of practical tasks, projects and exams which are the equivalent of 3 A levels.
T Levels are similar in ways to an apprenticeship however apprenticeships are most suited to students who know the exact job they would like to do, whereas T Levels give broader course content which is focused on an area e.g. Construction or Education and childcare. Students then have an opportunity later in the course to specialise in an area, such as within Education and childcare they may then specialise in Early years education and childcare. This means they are best suited to students who know an area they wish to go into and would like that mixture of classroom and work based experience.
They are a new qualification starting in September 2020 with 3 T Levels, so not all areas of work are covered and not all educational providers are running these courses, each year the number of courses and providers offering them will grow from September 2020 to September 2023 until all 24 T Levels are available covering everything from agriculture to catering and engineering to science. For more details on the courses and their availability click here: T Level Subjects
T Levels will allow students to go onto further education as they can converted into UCAS points for university or other forms of further and higher education such as Higher-level apprenticeships.
More information on T Levels can be found on the links below:
https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/students
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels
