Comment: T Levels have a vital role to play in narrowing the skills gap

In June this year, Keir Starmer said 'We haven't got the skills we need in this country - we need a skills strategy to ensure the workforce is available for the jobs we need doing'. His words rung true with me as I’m sure they did with many of you.

Our industry – and the business I work for – has an ageing workforce. Whilst this has some advantages, the main one being the vast amount of experience they have, it does also present us with a problem: recruitment.  I’m acutely aware that our workforce won’t be here forever and that for our industry to survive, and indeed thrive, we need to be enthusing and up skilling the next generation of engineering and manufacturing talent.  

By 2030, the UK may face a shortfall of one million engineers. This is an alarming statistic and demonstrates why we all need to act now to make sure this doesn’t turn into a horrible reality. One of the biggest challenges we face as a business is finding the people with the right skills. I often find myself thinking: ‘How am I going to find someone with the right skills, passion, fresh ideas and a commitment to the business?’ I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking this. So, when the local college in Grantham introduced us to T Levels, our ears perked up. Could this be a good way to get people passionate about our business and testing out potential future employees at the same time?

T Levels, for those of you who haven’t heard of them, are a technical qualification for 16 -19 year olds. They comprise of studying and an industry placement. That’s where we come in. Manufacturing and engineering SMEs can host a T Level student or students for 45 days.

The placements are organised in partnership with your local school or college and they can be done in one block, spread over two years or shared with another employer.

For us, hosting a T Level student for an industry placement is much like an extended interview. You really get to know each other over the 45 days and can see the young person in action – and by the end of it you have a clear view of whether the student is a good fit for your business. It’s a much more reliable recruitment process than an interview.

We’ve now hosted two T Level students for industry placements and have a good programme in place. We make sure to split the students’ time between our four departments, so they get a 360 perspective of what we do. That breadth of experience really does pay dividends because by the end of their course you can cherry pick the good ones and say ‘Brilliant effort, would you like a job?”

We would aim to recruit two or three young individuals each year. We’re ideally aiming to get to the point where we can recruit someone after they complete a T Level industry placement with us, which means they’re integrated in the business, know the products and the people.

The students we’ve had have been really switched-on. They had a good understanding of maths - a baseline requirement for our work - and they came armed with the knowledge to understand basic drawings and how to use the equipment.

For us, it’s a win-win. We can offer a meaningful industry placement to support and inspire the next generation of engineers and manufacturers, while at the same time recruiting from that pipeline of promising young talent.

The long-standing skills gap in our sector really needs addressing and T Levels could play a crucial part. It’s important that our team on the shop floor sees us proactively working to bridge the gap. We’re not just waiting for someone to come to us; we’re opening our doors and giving real opportunities that could then lead to employment.

Nathan Flower, production manager at BGB Innovation

Click here to find out more about hosting a T Level student.