South Hampshire College Group are delivering a new T Level to pave new routes into the business industry through increased work experience. We caught up with Cameron, a Business and Logistics student whose work experience helped him land paid work beyond college.
Cameron joined Eastleigh College in 2022 at the age of 16, to pursue a career in logistics, with a family history in the field. Studying a Level 3 course in Business and Supply Chain Management ensured he could obtain key skills that would complement this career choice and gain a deeper understanding of business practices that influence the industry. During his two years at the College, he also had the opportunity to gain work experience with three different companies, including Meachers Global Logistics, Blake Morgan Solicitors and DHL.
The latter stint at DHL helped secure a permanent work placement in the form of an apprenticeship with the company, which will commence upon the conclusion of Cameron’s college studies in June. Such was the impression that he made, they offered him part-time work in the interim period before the apprenticeship begins, which he is currently balancing alongside his studies.
Clare Battson, Business Lecturer at Eastleigh College, commented: “This is the first time a student has progressed from our course directly into an apprenticeship. Many students go straight into full-time employment in an unrelated field before circling back after gaining further work experience, so for Cameron to obtain this direct route into the industry so soon is very encouraging. We hope that the stronger emphasis on work experience in our new T Level offering will make direct transfers into industry more commonplace.”
Cameron said: “Logistics is an underlooked industry and that makes it a really attractive prospect in a competitive job market. This is an ageing industry with a workforce that is older and retiring, there is a strong demand for younger people and energy to carry the industry forward in the future. Classroom work is useful, but nothing beats work experience for familiarising yourself with the industry, and I think this is so helpful for young people looking for future careers in this area.”
T Levels are exciting modern qualifications enjoying a surge in popularity across the UK amongst students and employers. A T Level qualification is equivalent to 3 A Levels in UCAS points, making this learning pathway a highly credible and valuable alternative to A Levels. There is a much stronger weight on work experience with T Levels – comprising an 80/20% split between class work and industry placements, they are specifically designed to focus on high-level technical and work-ready skills.
The new Business Management & Administration T Level commences in September 2024 and joins 34 other specialised T Level courses that will run at South Hampshire College Group in the 24/25 academic year.
For any further queries, please contact the Group at info@shcg.ac.uk.
