What is a T Level?
T Levels 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 do not require to be paid.
T Level programmes will provide students with:
- broad knowledge, skills and behaviours necessary for employment in an occupation or industry related to their field of study
- an opportunity to develop specialist technical skills relevant to at least one occupation
- relevant maths, English and digital skills.
T Levels will also provide a progression pathway to skilled employment, higher or degree-level apprenticeships and higher-level education.
For those not ready to go directly on to a level three T Level qualification, a transition programme will be available. Find out more about the transition programme.
Programme structure
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.
The Department for Education has also introduced temporary flexibilities for T Levels to make sure industry placements remain deliverable and align with current working practices. The temporary flexibilities are only for the 2020 and 2021 cohort of students and plan to be withdrawn from 2023. Read the flexibilities guidance in full on the government website.
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.
Support for employers and education providers
If you are an education provider who is interested in delivering T Levels, this CPD module contains useful information about how to get started. It can also support with the delivery of the health T Level curriculum, and enable you to support your students with their career choices with up-to-date information about healthcare careers structures.
If you are a health or care provider who is interested in having T Level student placements, this CPD module can offer useful information about how to manage this within your organisation.
If you need more information or support with delivering T Levels with placements in health or care settings, the Academy team is always available for support. Use the Get In Touch button at the bottom of the page to contact us.
T Levels – the next level qualification for our future workforce
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.
- The East Kent Colleges and the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust’s Nursing Education team are working together on T Level placements in nursing profession.
- NHS Kent and Medway’s Children and Young People’s Mental Health are working together on T Level placements in Business.
Filming was at NHS Kent and Medway office in Whitstable, Kent and Canterbury Hospital and Canterbury College.