The construction industry makes up 9% of the UK’s GDP and employs 3.1million people according to a new report by the Construction Industry Council (CIC). However, it has been notoriously hard to recruit a skilled workforce into the industry. With the construction workforce growing older and a need to recruit more young talent, a new qualification that took a dedicated hands-on approach was needed. Step forward T Levels.
In September 2020, at the height of the pandemic there were a number of students, across the country taking up T Levels. These new courses are equivalent to three A levels and include an industry placement, putting students at the heart of the work they want to go on to do. T levels are set to be available at around 200 colleges throughout England as of 2023 with 16 already providing construction courses as of September 2020, 50 set for September 2021 and even more set to do so the following years.
The qualifications most of interest to developers include the T Level in Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction. All the course work has been mapped out with the help of professionals from within the industry. Bruce Boughton, people development manager at Lovell Partnerships, was on the panel for the Onsite Construction course starting in September 2021 and helped prepare materials for the existing Surveying, Planning and Development for Construction course.
Bruce Boughton, Lovell Partnerships
He comments: “The construction sector has been amazing in continuing to prosper during these tough times and looks likely to be a large provider of jobs for years to come. However, we need ambitious young workers to meet demand and I see the new T Levels in Construction as being a fantastic route into the industry. We haven’t had a qualification like this before. Good candidates for surveying for example, to date have tended to do an A level in maths. Now these T Level students will do two years focused study on the direct skills they will need on the job. They will do a placement that will connect them to an employer too so, as a recruiter we can get a steady stream of skilled workers into the roles needed.”
Lovell worked on the pilot project at Manchester College. They had been recruiting students into their industry placements before the first national lockdown. Since the pandemic, they has also been looking further afield offering future placement opportunities at Lovell Partnerships to colleges such as Thomas Telford UTC.
Bruce comments: “It has been a very interesting year in terms of talent management and we haven’t really had a full recruitment drive this year. I have noticed the regions have started to recruit again and there is a dilemma between the short term challenges (not wanting people on site) and the long term need for skills. Our plan is to grow by 20% as a business and this needs to be fed by new talent. I need to be bringing in new talent to feed our five year plan and T Levels will help.”
At present women only make up 14.5% of construction workers and only 13% of women aged 16-25 say they would consider a career in the sector. Lucy Wiltshire FRICS MCIOB, senior bid manager at Willmott Dixon, took part in the Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction T Level panel. She has technical expertise across construction, specialising bid management and commercial (Quantity Surveying) with 30 years of experience. Lucy wants more women to take up a T Level and be fast tracked into the industry.
She comments: “It would be great to get students including women, into the sector early. A Levels aren’t for everyone and with a T Level you spend 20% of your time on work experience. As a business we can work with new candidates two years earlier and the students see how everything works in practice.”
Lucy Wiltshire, Willmott Dixon
Lucy began her career as an apprentice so is passionate about learning on the job. She adds: “T Levels present the fantastic opportunity to learn the necessary academic elements of the industry while also providing valuable work placements. This allows students to learn first-hand what a job in construction is like.”
One student, who is already six months into his T Level is Sam Corneby, 18, from Woodbridge. He is one of the first-ever students taking the T Level in Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction. He thinks the course is a great opportunity as it gives the chance to get his hands dirty on site.
Sam, who is studying at Suffolk New College, comments: “I’ve always been interested in how things work and the engineering behind it. The course combines the theory, practical work and science really well and we have access to great software like Google Sketch Up and AutoCad, which allow you to visualise what you are planning. The benefit is I get to experience the actual job and to apply the knowledge I have learnt in a practical environment.” Sam’s first virtual work placement (due to coronavirus) was with Morgan Sindall, where he took on the project manager and structural engineering roles. In the future he hopes to build a career, like his father and grand-father before him in construction. One possibility he has his eye on is working as a project manager at the local power station.
As of September 2021, two more sector-relevant T Level courses be launched: Building Services Engineering for Construction and Onsite Construction. After completing the qualification, students will be able to join a company in a skilled entry level role to begin working straight away, join a degree level apprenticeship or can consider a university course, which some companies will fund.
Lucy Wiltshire adds: “With the Construction sector progressing how it is, we are in need of new enthusiastic talent. To do this it will be important for the industry to engage with T Levels and offer industry placements. This will benefit the employers hugely as well by giving them early access to some brilliant young talent. When I was at school I certainly would have been delighted for the opportunity to learn first-hand in the sector and I’m sure it would have helped fast track my career and development.”
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