These are two-year technical programmes designed with employers that give students the skills that employers need.
The 'T' stands for technical and from 2020, T Levels have given 16 to 19-year-olds a technical alternative to A levels. One T Level is equivalent to three A levels.
T Levels are delivered by selected schools and colleges. They are taught full time and include an industry placement for a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days) which is delivered in an employment setting.
Although students will complete their industry placement in an employment setting, they will not be an employee and therefore are not paid.
T Level programmes will provide students with:
T Levels will also provide a progression pathway to skilled employment, higher or degree-level apprenticeships and higher-level education.
A T Level programme is expected to take students around 1,800 hours over two years to complete, including the industry placement.
There is a full range of T Level courses available which will support the NHS including: Health, healthcare science, science, business services, childcare, digital, facilities management and HR.
View the full list of T Levels and the occupations they can lead to on completion.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education has developed a number of occupational maps for T Level programmes which show the skills, behaviours and core competencies required for industry roles. However, T Level students do not achieve full occupational competency through their industry placement in the same way that they would if they completed an apprenticeship. The industry placement is designed to provide a taster of the variety of roles available within a subject area.
Towards the end of their first year, students must select a specialism to follow, which enables them to focus their learning toward an occupation, such as physiotherapy or mental health nursing. The occupational maps outline career pathways for progression after completion of T Level programme to help with this decision.
You can find out more about the structure of T Level courses and the stakeholders involved in developing T Levels from the Department for Education.
Visit the government course finder to find a T-Level school or college delivering the T-Level programme that you want, in your area.
Watch these videos made in partnership with East Kent College Group to get an understanding and hear the benefits of how T level Industry Placements work for the student, employer and education provider.
Filming was at NHS Kent and Medway office in Whitstable, Kent and Canterbury Hospital and Canterbury College.