Carmel Grant, Delivery Director at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) recently paid Sunderland College a visit for a round table discussion with key T Level personnel including teachers to focus on what works well.
IfATE works with employers to shape skills training in England, for the future of the workforce. This includes developing and approving apprenticeships and technical qualifications. Following the creation of Skills England, the work of IfATE will transfer to the new organisation in Spring 2025.
Thousands of employers, including Sunderland College help to create and maintain over 600 occupational standards, shaping apprenticeships, T Levels and higher technical qualifications.
With 18 T Levels now in delivery and a further three available from September 2025, the college welcomed the visit to review how the T Levels are operating, what is working well, any specific challenges and whether there are areas for improvement.
Judith Quinn, Northumberland College Ashington Campus Principal said: “Sunderland College, Northumberland College and Hartlepool Sixth Form College have successfully been running T Levels for several years now, and across skills priority areas such as Engineering, Health and Science, Construction, Digital and Education and Childcare.
“With any qualifications, we continually review the impact and outcomes for our students, to make sure we strive for excellence in our T Level delivery, so were happy to feedback to IfATE on what has been working exceptionally well and where the T Level qualifications could be improved.”
IfATE has a pivotal role in the creation of the T Levels through its work with employers to design the initial content and subsequent development of the full qualification with awarding organisations.
The visit saw Carmel meet with Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Education Partnership North East (EPNE), Toni Rhodes and Northumberland College’s Ashington Campus Principal, Judith Quinn.
College staff in attendance included Associate Principal Creative & Digital: Enhanced Curriculum Sheree Rymer, Faculty Director for Health and Social Care Carla Raine, and T Level staff from subject areas including Curriculum Manager for Computing and Digital John Nelson, Lecturer, Curriculum Manager for Health, Michael Taylor and Programme Leader for Film & Media Sally Taylor, who won Pearson National Teaching Silver Award in last year’s National Teaching Award’s Ceremony.
After the round table discussion, Carmel was given a tour of the College’s impressive facilities, such as the Immersive Hub, Health Simulator, Digital classrooms and Media classrooms.
Carmel Grant, Delivery Director at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) said: “It was fantastic to see how T Levels are operating at Sunderland College and to witness the incredible facilities including the Immersive Hub in action.
“Students and college staff provided great feedback on the strength of the T Levels in preparing for employment and further study, and we were grateful for their ideas for improvement. With huge thanks to everyone who hosted us and shared their experiences, it was a very rewarding visit.”
All apprenticeships and T Levels are based on occupations recognised by employers. There are now over 600 occupational standards across 15 occupational routes such as agriculture, environmental and animal care, business and administration, engineering and manufacturing, sales marketing and procurement and transport and logistics.
The work aims to make sure apprenticeships and technical education are of the highest quality. This helps to give every employer and individual the skills they need to succeed.
For more information on T Levels, please click this link: https://sunderlandcollege.ac.uk/courses/school-leaver/t-levels/
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(*Destination data for Sunderland College students aged 16-18, academic year 2017/18).
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We are the College of the Year.
(*Top college nationally for BTECs, Pearson 2019)
100% of our HND and HNC students progressed to employment or further study.
(*Destination data, academic year 2016/17, HNC 19+)
We have recently invested £50 million in our facilities.
