Firms declare T-levels a ‘win-win’ as first results are revealed

Construction firms have hailed the new T-level exams a success after nearly all students who studied design, surveying and planning or construction passed, with just under half of students achieving a merit. 

This is the first cohort of students to have completed the two-year T-level courses, and those studying design, surveying and planning for construction. Some 93.7% achieved a “pass” or above. 

And 94.2% of entrants completed a placement, which is at least 315 hours – or about 45 days – of on-the-job training, which is essentially work experience in a firm.  

Of the 207 students that took the design, surveying and planning for construction T-levels, 100 (48.3%) achieved a merit, 67 (32.4%) a distinction and 20 (9.7%) were awarded a pass. Seven (3.4%) got the highest mark, a distinction star.

Helen Clements, Morgan Sindall’s social value manager in the east of England, said: “It’s a win-win all round.” Two students who completed the course have since got apprenticeships with the firm. A total of 10 T-level students have now done placements with Morgan Sindall. 

Clements said the course enhances students’ learning as they can put into practice what they are taught in the classroom and they can then see if a career in construction is the right choice for them. “We get to see if they will fit into our company culture and whether we suit them,” she said. 

Clements added that an increasing number of colleges were becoming interested in running the T-levels because they had got such good results. 

Danielle Haskings, senior social value manager at Willmott Dixon, said the T-levels were “absolutely” a success and the results were well-earned as the choice was “a difficult course”. She added that increasing numbers of people would do T-levels in future but thought that numbers would be limited as people begin to realise it is not an easy option.

“It’s very academic,” Haskings explained. She said the course would plug the skills gap in terms of people with sustainability knowledge needed in the sector. “It’s the only course that has those topics at the moment.” 

Two students who completed the course and did placements with Willmott Dixon have since got apprenticeships with the firm. 

The Department for Education said many of those who had done the T-level courses had already secured their first job or an apprenticeship, which it said demonstrated the “flexibility and appeal of these courses”.

The government introduced the two-year T-level courses in 2020 as part of its post-16 skills plan. They are a new qualification at education level 3, taken after the completion of GCSEs and roughly the equivalent in size to studying three A-levels.

In 2021, seven more courses were rolled out, including one in building services engineering for construction and onsite construction. These will be completed next year. 

From this month around 175 schools, colleges and other further education providers across the country will be offering T-levels.

Pupils also did T-levels – the results of which came out on the same day as the A-levels last month – in education and childcare as well as digital production, design and development. A total of 1,029 students in England completed the course and were awarded T-levels this year.