T Level student Harry Torr says his studies at Buxton & Leek College (BLC) and a placement at a North Staffordshire flooring manufacturer has boosted his confidence and opened up options – so much so that he is now considering going straight into the industry.
Harry, a second year T Level Digital Support student, is completing a 315-hour placement with F. Ball & Co, based in Cheddleton, as part of his course.
Whilst he was originally planning to go to university after completing the technical-based qualification, he is now rethinking his plans after such a positive experience.
Harry said: “Thanks to BLC and F. Ball & Co I feel ready to go into industry. I’m so much more confident with people and the entire experience has helped me to build my own professional framework, so I know exactly how I need to interact and behave in a workplace setting.
“I was going to go straight to university, but studying a T Level has changed my opinion. Being out on placement has opened up options for me, and there’s the potential for me to start an apprenticeship with F. Ball & Co too, which I’m excited about.
“I feel valued on my placement, as having me means they can focus on the big things whilst I learn and handle the smaller things. I’m able to do the tasks they might not have been able to prioritise, so ultimately, I’m helping them get the most out of their business and other staff members.”
Buxton & Leek college has five pathways in T Levels – Education and Early Years, Health, Engineering, Digital, Carpentry and Joinery. A sixth – Culinary – is coming soon.
The nationally-recognised qualifications that follow GCSEs are equivalent to 3 A Levels. The programmes have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses, so the content meets the needs of the industry and prepares students for work, further training or study.
Harry added: “On my work placement I do day-to-day IT so if an employer has an issue, then I’m there to support and sometimes I even go out to help them.
“They’ve given me a lot of other projects to work on too, like troubleshooting to help me identify issues if anything goes wrong, so I can find and repair it. Currently they have me building a W S server, which is like imaging software for Windows, and I think it’s my favourite project so far.
“I definitely think other businesses should consider having T Level placements because it’s a way of investing in the future workforce and contributing to how the next generation of workers is being trained.”
To find out more about becoming a T Level employer with BLC, click here.
