- 65 building projects to receive share of £50 million to
improve and expand teaching spaces and facilities for T Level
students
- Funding will ensure students learn in modern, fit for purpose
buildings and have access to industry standard equipment to
prepare them for skilled employment
- T Level qualifications have been developed hand-in-hand with
employers to provide the skilled talent pipeline they need for
the future
£50 million will be invested in colleges, schools and sixth forms
delivering T levels across England from 2022 to improve and
expand teaching spaces and facilities.
The funding will ensure students have world-class facilities when
studying for T Levels, helping to transform the provision of
technical education to help fill local skills gaps and level up
opportunities across the country.
65 building projects will receive a share of the funding,
providing thousands of students with industry quality equipment
for hands-on experience right from the start of their training,
and high-tech classrooms.
T Levels - co-created with over 250 employers including Fujitsu
and Amazon – are equivalent to three A levels and uniquely
combine classroom study with industry placements, so students
gain the skills businesses need allowing them to go straight into
the workplace, onto an apprenticeship or further study. New
subjects including Health, Science and Onsite Construction will
be added from September.
The funding will be used to refurbish buildings and facilities,
including upgrading classrooms and creating specialist spaces
such as teaching wards, and building or improving laboratories
for health and science students.
Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills said:
“T Levels are a game changer for young people,
providing a high-quality technical equivalent to A levels that
have been designed hand-in-hand with leading employers so
students and businesses can be sure they will get the skills they
need to thrive in a high tech economy.
“This multi-million pound investment will mean even more students
will benefit from world-class facilities, giving them access to
brilliant new buildings that will help them get ready for the
world of work.
West Sussex College is one of the providers to receive a share of
the investment, to refurbish and create new facilities to deliver
Digital T Level courses, including a mixed reality suite to
explore uses of coding, and specialist classrooms and
collaborative teaching spaces to enable informal learning.
Tameside College will create a health skills ward to support
teaching on the Health and Science route, and Birchwood Community
High School in Warrington will refurbish spaces to create a new
laboratory and other spaces to teach Health and Science.
Dr Paul Phillips, CBE, Principal and Chief Executive of
Weston College Group said:
“The successful application for the T Level Capital Fund Building
and Facilities Improvement Grant has enabled Weston College to
transform facilities and develop new opportunities for learners
to work with state of the art resources. As we move forward with
the Government’s skills strategy via the White Paper, funding
such as this is paramount to realising the highly positive aims
and objectives from Central Government”.
David Hughes, Chief Executive of the Association of
Colleges said:
“T Levels will be available in more than 100 colleges and schools
from this September and are a high quality option for young
people looking to build a career. I welcome the fact that the
government is continuing to invest in up-to-date buildings and
facilities for these courses and students.”
T Levels form a key part of the government’s reforms to
revolutionise skills and technical education, providing students
with the skills and experience they need to progress into
well-paid jobs, further study or an apprenticeship.
The first three T Levels in Design, Surveying and Planning for
Construction, Digital Production, Design and Development and
Education and Childcare were introduced in September 2020. A
further seven are rolling out from this September in subjects
including Health, Science and Onsite Construction, with subjects
including Finance, Media and Legal introduced from 2022 and 2023.
Today’s announcement builds on the £133 million made available to
support providers delivering T Levels in 2020 and 2021, including
funding given to all new T Level providers to purchase specialist
equipment so students have access to the equipment they will use
when they get a job. Further funding is expected to be awarded
later in the year.
