The employer engagement offer for T Level providers
Employer engagement lies at the heart of T Level delivery. It involves active collaboration between educational organisations and employers to shape the curriculum, provide industry insights, and offer real-world work experience through industry placements. This collaboration makes sure T Level students graduate not only with theoretical knowledge but also with practical skills that align with the needs of the job market.
Employer engagement staff are pivotal to achieving and driving the success of T Levels. These individuals are the bridge builders, connecting educational organisations with employers to ensure a seamless integration of theoretical learning and real-world application.
Support includes:
- Practical tools and resources to support your team
- A professional development programme for staff in, or due to start, an employer engagement role for T Level Industry Placements and/or T Level Foundation programme.
- A LinkedIn Employer Engagement forum
Practical tools and resources to support your team
Practical tools and resources developed to support T Level Providers to plan, design and deliver employer engagement activities to secure industry placements.
Tools and resources are available to support you with:
Preparation: assisting you with key activities to prepare for successful employer engagement.
Awareness: providing activities and tools to support you raise employers’ awareness of the opportunity to host an industry placement or work with you and students more widely.
Interest: these resources are ready for you to tailor to develop employers’ knowledge and understanding when they’re ready for the detail.
Decision: to be used with employers at the point of decision and commitment to an industry placement.
Action and loyalty: a range of templates to use in the lead up to hosting an industry placement and for promoting success and evaluating employer engagement.
The resources are all available here, on the T Levels Support for Schools and Colleges website. However, with so many resources available to you, it can be a bit daunting to find what you’re looking for. SDN has done the hard work for you with this PDF navigation tool.
Virtual employer engagement forum and community
Be part of a thriving space for staff to connect, collaborate, and succeed in securing exceptional T Level industry placements. This community supports you in planning and embedding employer engagement activities—driving impact from strategy to delivery and shaping the curriculum through feedback.
Why Join?
- Connect: Network with like-minded providers.
- Learn: Gain insights from sector experts.
- Thrive: Access top tips, tools, and resources.
Follow us, share your success stories, and let’s continue creating meaningful opportunities for T Level students!
Employer engagement staff – Professional development programme
This Professional Development Programme successfully supported providers in planning, implementing, and embedding employer engagement activities for T Level Industry Placements. Delivered in four parts, the programme guided participants through strategy, delivery, and evaluation, equipping them with tools and insights to drive meaningful impact.
Programme highlights
Understand the big picture
Plan & implement employer engagement strategies
Engage effectively with employers
Develop a long-term vision picture
Programme impact
This pilot reached providers nationwide, helping to strengthen employer-provider partnerships and expand opportunities for students. Participants shared successes, tackled challenges, and formed valuable professional networks that will continue to benefit T Level implementation. Thank you to all who participated and contributed to its success!
Although the pilot has now concluded, we are hopeful we will be able to offer further opportunities to engage in this and further development soon.
If you’re looking for ongoing support, please explore our other resources or connect with us via the T Level Employer Engagement Forum on Linked In.
Stay tuned for future opportunities to collaborate and learn with SDN!
Meet our team of employer engagement specialists
Anna Sutton
Development and Implementation
Karen Kelly
Development and Implementation
Phil Golding
Research, Evaluation and Development
Nicki McGee
Administrative Support