T Levels Week: Trailblazers Tuesday

Today is Trailblazers Tuesday, where we're highlighting the exciting opportunities that T Levels can unlock.

Whether it's progressing into skilled employment, an apprenticeship or higher education, T Levels are helping students take confident steps towards successful futures:

From T Level student to student nurse

Stanley studied a T Level in Health at Wigan and Leigh College and is now studying for a BSc (Hons) in Adult Nursing at the University of Manchester.

His industry placement gave him invaluable insight into different healthcare roles and helped him grow in confidence as he explored his future career options.

Stanley said:

"I shadowed social workers, mental health officers and nurses within the NHS as part of my placement. I gained lots of insight into what social work is like. It made me realise what was required for the role, and it gave me a clear path to what I want to go into.

"I was really nervous at first, but my confidence boosted so much while on industry placement. My teamworking and empathetic skills have both improved after gaining more confidence talking to clients."

Building a career through engineering

Sorrel chose a T Level in Engineering to combine classroom learning with meaningful industry experience. During her industry placement with Interflex Group, she gained hands-on experience in the sector she was passionate about pursuing.

Today, she is working as an Apprentice Maintenance Technician.

Sorrel said:

"I chose to study a T Level because I wanted to gain an academic qualification alongside valuable work experience to help me get an apprenticeship at the end. I was able to choose a specialism that really interested me and was the route I wanted to take as a career.

 "I did my placement at Interflex Group, and I was able to progress as I'm now an Apprentice Maintenance Technician."

Unlocking opportunities

Stanley and Sorrel are just two examples of how T Levels can help young people discover their strengths, gain valuable industry experience and progress confidently towards their career goals.

To help students, parents and employers explore where technical education can lead, don't forget to use the Occupational Maps, developed by Skills England.

The maps:

• Help people understand the different routes available to train, develop skills and progress in their careers.
• Show how occupations at different levels connect and create progression pathways.
• Provide useful workforce and career planning information, including likely salary ranges.

Explore the Occupational Maps and discover where a T Level could lead.