Little has been as clear over the past few weeks and months as the government’s determination on T levels.

Both education secretary Gavin Williamson and apprenticeships and skills minister Gillian Keegan have not missed any opportunity to reiterate their commitment to the new “gold standard” qualifications, which they say will be on a par with A levels.

A new wave of providers was announced only recently, and, although a small number of providers have asked to delay their delivery, most, it seems, also remain committed to making them work.

News: T-level placements ‘require significant resource’

More: Government fully committed to T-level delivery in 2020

Need to know: Next wave of T-level providers announced

‘Significant resource’

But, as with everything in life right now, the coronavirus pandemic will have an impact on T levels on a scale that is impossible to predict but that will undoubtedly be very significant. And that will hit the part of T levels viewed as key to the programme’s success: the high-quality industry placements.

It was a tall order before the pandemic: finding a placement of at least 315 hours, or 45 days, for everyone taking the new T levels was always going to require a great deal of work on the part of providers. Last week, a report published by the Department for Education (DfE), the research for which was carried out last year, shows that a significant number of employer approaches was required to secure each placement - 43 per cent of providers said they were in contact with between zero and four employers per placement; 22 per cent with between five and nine employers; and 15 per cent between 10 and 14 employers.

The report also showed that sixth form colleges, which traditionally have often not had the same level of employer engagement as large general FE colleges, were struggling more than other institutions. Large general FE providers in urban and metropolitan areas with a high target number of placements, as well as smaller providers in adjacent geographies, were also finding it more challenging, owing to more competition between providers.

The report said: “They believed that their local labour market had already reached a saturation point and that they were now contacting the same employers as their competitors.” Staffing and capacity were also named as challenges.

Fast forward to now, to an economy slowly restarting after lockdown, where huge unemployment is expected and many businesses, especially small ones, will be struggling to survive - never mind provide a meaningful experience to young T level students.

The government recognises this, of course. Keegan announced a package of support - from financial help for employers taking on students for placements, to flexibility on how the placement can take place. The government will also, it promises, procure an organisation “with the appropriate expertise” to support 2020, 2021 and 2022 providers to help them deliver high-quality placements, as well as a suite of other support schemes. Other flexibilities, for example around how many employers can be part of one student’s placement, already exist.

I wonder, though, in the current climate, if that can ever possibly be enough. Placements could be postponed, of course. And obviously, only a small number of providers will be in the first wave of three T levels due to be rolled out this year, with more to come in 2021. 

So, maybe I am being too cynical. The Manchester College, for example, is optimistic that finding a sufficient number of placements when its T level delivery starts next year will not be an issue. The college prides itself on the huge number of employers it engages with and the number of placements available to students on a whole range of courses. Its new Industry Excellence Academy, for example, was co-created with more than 1,000 employers.

The success the college has had is inevitably down to significant investment by the college, and to commitment by its principal and staff to the cause of creating these links with employers. Other colleges across England will, I hope, be similarly successful with their initiatives.

But it cannot all be down to the college. And that is where, I am afraid, I cannot help but arrive at a more sober conclusion. T level industry placements not only have to be quite long at more than 300 hours, they are also meant to be “high quality”. Meaningful. That means that employers are unlikely to be able to take on a dozen young people all at the same time. And regardless of how much they value the relationship with their local college, is this really going to be their priority this autumn - or even next year? We may even see the number of employers in an area reduce. 

I am not worried about whether colleges and other providers are able to commit to the new qualification and try their best to improve and build on their employer relationships to find enough placements. But what if the economy, right at this point, and for some time to come, just isn’t ready? That’s the big concern.