Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 35
35
Accepted
Paragraph: 139
Employer interest in T Level placements remains insufficient to meet future demand
Conclusion
We have been told that demand for T level placements could reach up to 250,000 placements. The Department’s own research has concerningly identified that fewer employers were interested in providing T Level placements in 2021 than in 2019 (30% vs. 36%). And almost two-thirds (63%) of employers were currently not interested in offering T Level placements. This puts students at risk of having neither a T Level option, nor an Applied General option, which is a threat to the pipeline of skills needed by employers and the economy.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government acknowledged concerns about T Level placements and outlined several initiatives to address this, including a £12m employer support fund for the 2023/24 financial year, a dedicated employer support website, and a service launched in November 2022 to connect providers with interested employers.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
139
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The employer incentive fund was launched as part of our response to the Covid-19 pandemic and was always intended to be a short-term fund. We have no intention to continue or reinstate the incentive fund as this is not a sustainable, long-term model. However, earlier this year we launched a £12m employer support fund. This fund will compensate employers for costs incurred when delivering an industry placement. It is hoped that providing compensation for these costs will enable providers to build relationships with employers and for them to realise the long-term benefits of the programme. We are also providing significant support on the provision of industry placements, including a newly updated provider support package from September 2023 to aid providers in developing effective employer engagement strategies to source placements at scale. The £12m one-year employer support fund will provide financial assistance to employers offering placements in 2023/24 for costs such as administration, training staff, or personal protective equipment. We have launched the T Levels and Industry Placement Support for Employers website (https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb), offering guidance and case studies. In November 2022, we launched the ‘Connect with employers interested in T Levels’ service (https://connect.tlevels.gov.uk/start), enabling providers to find interested employers for industry placements.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗