Follow our T Level trio on their two-year journey – Part 4

Are you wondering whether the technical-based qualification might be a strong alternative route to A Level study for your first step into Further Education?

Then, hopefully, our T Level Case Study Blog will prove a valuable and informative guide.

The quality of our T Level offering for 16 to 18-year-olds has been recognised and highlighted by national media publication FE Week.

We are now in our fifth year of delivering the two-year qualification, which was introduced in 2020 and combines classroom learning with 315 hours of work placement experience.

It seemed the right time, therefore, to follow the journeys of some of our T Level students from enrolment to their progression beyond Sim Balk Lane.

With that in mind, we have been sitting down at regular intervals with Leadership & Management T Level students Hope Simpson, Jakub Krzemien and Harrison Davis to learn more about the qualification and the opportunities it can provide.

In this latest instalment, with the students now in their second year, we learn that Hope has already accepted the offer of a Human Resources apprenticeship with her placement provider, Jakub has put together an agenda plan in his workplace and Harrison has been leading icebreaker meetings at the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet.

All three also talk about their preparations for next month's Occupational Specialism Project (OSP).  

HOPE SIMPSON

What have you enjoyed most about the second year of your T Level so far?

I’ve enjoyed going into more detail about everything and getting the opportunity to revise what we learned in the first year. We’re trying to improve our understanding of everything, which everybody is motivated to do.

We haven’t got any written exams this year, so everybody’s focus is on their projects. We’re getting our heads down and working hard, which I feel is good.

I think we’ve also become closer as a class, because everybody is supporting each other.

What are the main duties you’re carrying out on your placement now?

I’m going to start a HR (Human Resources) Apprenticeship at my placement with Samuel Grant Packaging when I finish my T Level, so I’ve been doing a lot of HR and helping with a lot of admin work. We’re currently doing recruitment interviews so, while I do different things every week, I’m doing a lot related to the hiring of new staff and putting them on the system.

We’ve also got a Family Fun Day coming up that I’ve helped plan. I’ve been sending out invites and putting down the names of people who are coming, along with their plus ones.

There’s going to be a free bar and food, as well as sporting events for charity, like sprint races where the person that wins will receive a cash prize that they can then put towards a charity of their choice from ones that people in the business have selected. They are mainly local organisations, but we’ll be raising money for Cancer Research, too, and I’ve been linking up with the charities as well.

It’s been really good because the HR department at my placement do a bit of everything, including payroll, recruitment, people leaving and sickness absence, as well as planning events. It has given me an insight into everything.

What appeals to you about a career in HR?

I have been in all of the departments and then typed out a final review of what I’ve done, looking at what I’ve enjoyed most and least. My manager saw that HR was my favourite and somebody in HR has just left, so he said it was perfect timing.

With the apprenticeship, I will also get another qualification, so everything has worked out perfectly. I’ve also been told my T Level in Leadership and Management and my HR Apprenticeship will be a really good combination for the future.

Have you had any more opportunities to apply any of the Leadership and Management skills you’re focussing on in class in the workplace?

There have been things that have happened on placement, where we’ve had to have a meeting or a group discussion and me and the woman that I work with in HR have had to speak and take notes because HR is about giving advice as well. I’ve also got involved in team-building exercises and I’ve set up an initiative based on the Strava fitness app where, over the course of two weeks, people can log the fitness they have done, as well as a picture of themselves doing it or of their Apple Watch if it has recorded what they’ve done.

Then, there’s a prize draw and, if your name gets pulled out, you win a £50 gift card for Amazon. I set a meeting up for that to describe what we were doing and how they could use the app and help them if they were struggling with it.

Have you benefitted from shadowing managers in the workplace and what tips have you picked up from them?

I’d say for anyone who gets the chance that shadowing people is really beneficial because you can get told how to do something but, to actually see how somebody does it in person in a real-life scenario, you learn a lot from it and see how different situations need to be handled differently in a leadership sense. You learn when might be the best time to act on something or keep calm.

I learned a lot from everybody I shadowed, not just those in management and leadership positions. I think I will be able to use that knowledge during my apprenticeship and anything I do after that.

What impact have the 315 hours on work placement had on your personality?

It gives you confidence. When I first went into that environment, being surrounded by experienced people was nerve wracking but, once you’re there, you realise everybody’s friendly and they know you’re just a student and want to help you learn. As well as having built up my confidence, I also feel a lot more independent now.

At 17 or 18, you’re still quite young, but we’re young adults as well and we need to become more independent. I think being on placement encourages you to work on something yourself when you’re given a task and gives you the belief that you can do it on your own.

What have you been mainly working on in the classroom?

This (Occupational Specialism) project is more about Leadership and Management than the (Employer Set) project we had to do in the first year, which was more general.

We’ve been given tasks about finance recently but, if anybody is struggling with anything, we can still ask for support. We are getting close to the project now, so it’s the best time to ask.

JAKUB KRZEMIEN

What have you enjoyed most about the second year of your T Level so far?

We don’t have exams this year, so we’ve been working towards our OSP, which I find more engaging. We’re doing more practical tasks in lessons, which I really enjoy.

What responsibilities and tasks are you being given on your placement with the Department for Education in Leeds now?

At the moment, I’m working with the TAN (T Level Ambassador Network) leadership team and my team focusses on getting employers, providers, students and universities to become ambassadors for T Levels. The aim is to get employers starting up as T Level providers and to set up new T Level courses.

I have been helping the ambassadors put together an agenda plan for meetings to make sure there are no clashes. One of the ambassadors is also part of Amazon, so it’s been great dealing with leaders from different organisations.

Have you had any more opportunities to apply any of the Leadership and Management skills you’re focussing on in class in the workplace?

I feel, as a second-year student, I have settled more into the placement and have been given more responsibilities. One of the tasks we were set in College was to make an agenda plan, so I knew I could help with that at work.

Have you benefitted from shadowing managers in the workplace and what tips have you picked up from them?

That has kind of changed my views on leadership, as I always thought that leaders manage big groups of people but, in my team, there are only between seven and ten and I see how that helps the Team Leader really focus on everyone and engages all the team to ensure everything goes smoothly. Even though we’re a small team, we’re also still contributing to the overall aim of a bigger team and one goal.

He's a good speaker and has a lot of charisma, so I’ve learned a lot from him. I also have a lot of online Teams calls with my Line Manager who is based in Coventry and I’ve learned a lot of things from her. She has also taken me to events.

I think if I was going to be a manager and had to lead 50 people, then it would be daunting but I’m a lot more confident now that I could swap roles with my Line Manager or Team Leader and, not be better than them, but reach the standards they have shown me.

With a small team, you can build a rapport and culture so that you can work well with everyone. Our Team Leader is also good at involving everybody and making them feel they are valued at the same level.

What have you been focussing on mainly in the classroom during your second year?

We’ve been focussing a lot on the OSP and mostly the finance aspect of it and acquiring the skills we need in that area.

HARRISON DAVIS

What have you enjoyed most about the second year of your T Level so far?

During the first year we acquired all the knowledge and the second year has been more about applying it. We are answering questions now with our practical knowledge from the workplace rather than just based on theory.

I’ve also been at my placement for longer now, so I feel more comfortable and confident there and have made nice progression in terms of being able to do more things.

What are the main duties you are carrying out on your placement now?

I’m in the management suite at the McArthur Glen Designer Outlet, so we look at whether stores are meeting their figures. Last month, I also helped set up a unit for a well-being weekend and I’ve been involved in organising different competitions, like a pumpkin carving competition.

I've gone around the Outlet with a QR code, too, if people wanted to change their parking and, some days, I’m sat in the office making Power Points and looking at spreadsheets, but others I’m out and about talking to different brands, so it varies in terms of what people want me to do.

Have you had any opportunities to apply any Leadership and Management skills you’ve discussed in the classroom in the workplace?

I’ve led a few icebreaker meetings and been able to ask different questions just to get the day started off well. We’ve done International Basketball Day and International Saxophone Day and I've set crazy questions like how many basketballs could fit in the sun.

If brands need help, I also speak to my seniors to see if we can guide them in the right direction.

Have you learned Leadership and Management techniques from shadowing other members of staff and what important tips have you been able to pick up?

This might sound quite basic, but one of my senior colleagues showed me how to put together a spreadsheet properly and understand it a bit more. I’ve also been shown how to take the intensity out of a situation if somebody is becoming aggressive.

There’s so much more that goes on in the Outlet than you might think, so I’ve also looked at how security works and deals with issues. There was an alarm going off once that shouldn’t have been and I learned how you’d go about resolving that.

I’ve learned how the Outlet gains money from the different brands, too. It's all experience that you can put on your CV and I’m able now to respond to different situations differently.

I feel that in meetings now I don’t crumble under pressure. I’ve got used to being in a more adult and mature environment and I have a greater understanding of how people and businesses work.

What have you been focussing on mainly in the classroom?

How to answer OSP questions, which is all about how you can analyse and expand on what you’ve learned. It can be about putting together a business plan, which helps you understand how that would be done in the real world.

Are there any modules during the second year that you’ve particularly enjoyed?

I enjoyed the work we did on finance. I’ve always enjoyed that but I also enjoyed learning how to do strategic plans.

That involves doing your project aims and then a basic plan to say what you’ll do in each month. You also set smart objectives and, when you get the hang of it, it’s quite easy to do. 

To read Part 1 of the students' T Level journey, please click here

Part 2 can also be read by clicking here

Part 3 can be found here

For more information on T Level and Vocational courses at York College & University Centre, please click here

To learn more about the T Level Leadership and Management course, please click here

You can also discuss our T Level provision with tutors at the next Open Event on Tuesday, 1st April (5.30pm-7.30pm). Register a place by clicking here