Engage internal networks with tailored emails

Introduction

This resource is for employer engagement staff. It provides email templates you can adapt and use with different internal stakeholders – such as staff, governors, alumni and parents – who may already have valuable links with local businesses.
Getting employers to commit to supporting students is not always easy. However, where employers already have a connection to your school or college, they are far more likely to engage. By tapping into the networks that already exist around your institution, you can reach employers who are warmer leads than a cold approach.
Use and adapt these email templates to prompt conversations, generate introductions and build a pipeline of employers to follow up with.

Why this matters

Finding employers to support T Level students is everyone’s job at your school or college. Just as safeguarding isn’t only the responsibility of the safeguarding team, employer engagement can’t sit with one person or team alone. Internal networks – staff, governors, alumni, parents – all hold connections that could help unlock opportunities for students.

These templates are designed to help you:
• make it simple for colleagues and stakeholders to pass leads on to you
• open doors with employers who already know and trust your school/college
• start conversations that can grow into placements, tasters or projects

Think about further information first:

When you send these emails, some people will come back wanting more detail. You don’t want to overwhelm them in the first contact, but it’s useful to have a short webpage or employer guide ready. This should cover the different ways employers can support:

• industry placements
• short work tasters
• setting real projects
• giving careers talks

That way, you’re not limited to asking for a 45-day placement straight away – you’re starting a conversation about what’s possible.

Timing and order:

1. Choose your moment:
Avoid periods when staff are overloaded (e.g. enrolment week).
2. Plan follow-up capacity:
Only send out an email if you have the time to follow up on the leads it generates within a couple of weeks.
3. Sequence your asks:
Start with senior leadership if you want inroads to large ‘anchor’ employers, then move on to governors, staff, alumni and parents.

Nuances for different groups

• SLT: their role is to use their influence with major local employers. Follow up after events or meetings where they’ve been with large organisations – ask if there’s a contact you can connect with.
• Governors: as business leaders, they can either offer support directly through their organisation or make introductions to peers. The call-to-action should be strong here.
• Staff: more likely to have friends or family in local businesses. Make the ask simple and people-focused – do you know anyone who might help our students?
• Alumni: often still early in their careers. A softer, longer-term approach works best – let them know even a small contribution (like a taster or talk) is valuable.
• Parents: this email is deliberately broad. It references employers supporting students in general, not specifically their own child, to avoid causing concern about placement arrangements.

Adapting your context

These templates are not one-size-fits-all. You can easily adapt them to:

• focus on a specific T Level subject where you need more opportunities
• highlight a small number of students with a strong ‘people story’ (e.g. we have five digital students, all hard-working and keen to get experience)
• reflect local events or priorities (e.g. recent partnerships, awards, economic development themes)

The key is to keep the message short, student-first, and clear on the next step: whether that’s an introduction, a conversation, or pointing you to the right contact.

In summary

These emails are a way of starting the conversation. You don’t need every contact to lead straight to a 45-day placement. The aim is to widen your pool of engaged employers by making the most of your school or college’s internal networks, and to build those conversations into real opportunities for students over time.