T Level Funding to Support Industry Placements

Introduction 

Overall, the government has invested £1.25 billion in the T Level programme, including capital investment to improve providers’ facilities, CPD and support to develop relationships with employers. For academic year 2025/26, T level funding includes a 5% uplift in recognition of the extra teaching hours involved, along with £550 per student to help with industry placement costs (see further details below). T Levels will benefit from an additional investment of nearly £800 million in the 2026–27 financial year, aimed at supporting reforms in further education for 16–19-year-olds.

This guide explores the funding elements that are specific to industry placements to support employer engagement colleagues’ understanding.

T Level industry placement funding

Number of T Level Students x £550

Within the total programme funding formula for each T Level student, there is specific funding to support industry placements. This is set at a flat rate of £550, with half paid in the first year and half in the second. This funding is intended to support the infrastructure and resource required to plan, source, deliver and monitor placements, and is set out in the funding rules as follows:

“Industry placements are a compulsory part of a T Level and must be delivered in line with the industry placements delivery guidance. We fund institutions a total of £550 per student for the industry placement element of the T Level programme; £275 per student in each of the 2 years of the T Level. We pay for the T Level student numbers agreed with institutions.
This funding is to support the infrastructure and resource required to plan, source, deliver and monitor industry placements. It is not to support employer costs for hosting placements.”

Each institution will make decisions on how this funding is utilised, for example it may be used to fund employer engagement staffing costs, training, systems or marketing.  

If you are facing challenges with sourcing and delivering industry placements due to resource or budgetary constraints, it may be helpful to have a discussion with your senior or financial leaders about how this funding is being used and whether there are opportunities to redirect it.

Student Expenses

There is no single approach to the funding of student expenses in relation to the industry placement element of the T Level, this includes costs such as: 

• Travel and subsistence
• Clothing or uniform
• DBS checks
• Vaccinations

Each institution will set its own bursary and funding policies. These costs are commonly funded via an employer contribution, from the £550 industry placement element and/or from the institution’s 16–19 discretionary bursary fund for eligible students. (Some institutions also have access to Employer Support Fund, see section below.)
It is essential that you plan and understand your institution’s approach to funding these costs prior to engaging with students and employers. Students must not be financially disadvantaged by undertaking placements.
If student costs are proving prohibitive, you should discuss this with your senior or financial leaders to explore alternative solutions, for example accessing local transport schemes or grants.

Students with special educational needs, low attainment and/or disabilities

Disadvantage funding is paid within the T Level funding allocation to provide additional support for students with special educational needs, low attainment and/or disabilities. This funding applies to the full T Level programme and therefore includes any additional support costs required for an industry placement.

Paying students 

Students on an industry placement are not entitled to a salary because the placement forms part of a 16–19 education and training programme. As such, there is no legal requirement or expectation that T Level students will be paid, and this should be made clear to both students and employers.
However, some employers may choose to pay students. This must be agreed up front. You may wish to refer employers to the guidance on making payments to students. 

Employer Support Fund

In addition to the £550 per-student funding, the Department for Education has introduced the Employer Support Fund (ESF) to help providers support employers with essential costs associated with delivering high-quality T Level industry placements.

All eligible providers have already opted in to the fund, and the opt-in window is now closed. Each opted-in provider has been given a specific allocation across two funding pots:

• Construction – available to employers of all sizes delivering industry placements in the Construction T Level route
• Health and SMEs – available to employers of all sizes delivering placements in the Health T Level route, and to SMEs delivering placements in all other T Level routes

Providers decide which employers to support, based on local priorities and need.
The fund can be used to cover essential costs such as:
• PPE, clothing or uniforms
• DBS checks, vaccinations or occupational health screening
• Insurance, software licences or workspace adjustments
• Student transport costs (above existing bursary or £550 support)
• Staff time for onboarding and supporting students (with receipts)
How claims work:
• Employers complete an Employer Declaration Form confirming their costs and provide receipts in a non-editable format
• Providers check and upload valid claims to the online claims tool
• Payments are made in arrears and reimbursed to employers by the provider

The final date for claims is 31 March 2026.
Watch the ESF Claims Guidance video for a walkthrough of the process.

Further ESF guidance can be found here.
Slide Deck to support providers conversations with employers can be found here
Helpful guide for employers on the ESF can be found here
A template to support claims for employer staff time can be found here