Thursday 12 February marks National T Levels Thursday and South Hampshire College Group have caught up with two T Level students and their employer, Specsavers.
Aisha, 18, and Taylor, 17, are in the second year of their T Level in Digital Software Development and have both made significant progress through their course and their work placement at Specsavers, which began in September 2024.
As Service Desk Analysts, they serve Specsavers stores across the South by providing support for technical, application, and software issues. With a structure comprising of three days in college, one day on placement and one day for personal study, they have developed a strong sense of routine and gained well-rounded exposure to the industry.
Taylor commented: “My favourite part of my T Level has definitely been the work placement, which has enabled me to build up very good work experience for a national company and build strong relationships with people across the organisation. I’ve been able to apply digital skills learned through my course on this placement and have developed strong people skills.”
Aisha said: “I didn’t have much confidence when I began this course, and through the T Level industry placement, I’ve had the chance to work with a range of people, which has helped me grow in confidence as well as learn useful skills like coding and problem solving. I’ve found that the relationships you build on a T Level can help you now and beyond college into the future.”
So impactful have Aisha and Taylor’s contributions been at Specsavers that they have been offered paid weekend work in addition to their weekly work placement day.
Georgie Tapley, Early Careers Manager at Specsavers, commented: “Aisha and Taylor have been exceptional additions to our team and their enthusiasm, curiosity, and drive to make a difference have consistently surpassed our expectations. They’ve truly embraced the working environment, contributed meaningful ideas, and shown a level of professionalism that has enabled us to offer them paid weekend employment alongside their placement. Their T Level experience has brought real value to our department, and it’s been a pleasure watching them grow and make such a positive impact. We can’t recommend T levels enough – they have been so good for Specsavers in creating high-quality, sustainable local talent pipelines.”
T Levels are a two-year qualification, with 80% of the time spent in college and 20% on an industry placement. The total allocation for industry placement is 45 days, allowing for the developmont of advanced knowledge and technical skills. T Levels have been designed with leading employers to give students the workplace skills they need to succeed and provide excellent progression opportunities into both the workplace and higher education.
To learn more about T Levels, please click here.
