Female plumbing apprentice welding a pipe in college workshop

Employers

Opportunities for Employers

Employers are vitally important to everything we do at Oldham College and we are always looking for ways to support your organisation.

As a vocational college, we make every effort to understand the local, regional and national economy to ensure we are developing and educating young people for the careers of the future in the industries that matter to you.

T Level Industry Placements

T Level industry placements are the ‘on the job’ element of the T Level qualification, which brings educators and employers together to provide quality technical training. T Levels are designed for 16-19-year-olds.

One T Level is equivalent to three A Levels, with students working at Levels 2 and 3. The course is designed to be 20% practical experience with an employer, with the remainder as classroom-based learning. This allows students to develop the technical skills relevant to your business and the unique opportunity to put their learning into practice.

Click here to contact our placement team or call us on 0161 785 4197

More information about T Levels

T Level sectors

We have a number of areas that require industry placements:

Business & Administration
Construction
Creative & Design
Digital
Education & Childcare
Health, Science & Sport
Legal, Finance & Accounting.
Marketing.

Benefits to your organisation

Students whose knowledge and skills complement your industry
Extra resource for your projects and day-to-day operations
Bridge staffing gaps when recruiting for Apprentices, or while Apprentices are at college
Upskill your existing workforce, by creating opportunities to develop management skills
Recruit from a cost-effective and untapped skills pool
Share with stakeholders how your business has supported local young people
Inspire the next generation to work in your industry
Resolve current and future entry-level skills shortages
Strengthen the diversity of your recruitment pipeline.

What do employers need to do?

Provide an industry placement that is a minimum of 315 hours. This is structured to your company’s requirements, such as blocks or days throughout the year
Offer opportunities for the student to develop their industry-specific technical skills
Arrange for a line manager to support, supervise and mentor the student
Ensure there is a safe work environment
Attend review meetings with the student and the College, mid-way and at the end of the placement
Complete a health and safety risk assessment.

Offering Work Experience

Work experience is an essential part of our students’ learning. These placements prepare students for the world of work in a professional environment relevant to their area of study.

Benefits to your organisation

Students whose knowledge and skills complement your industry
Extra resource for your projects and day-to-day operations
Upskill your existing workforce, by creating opportunities to develop management skills
Share with stakeholders how your business has supported local young people
Inspire the next generation to work in your industry
Resolve current and future entry-level skills shortages
Strengthen the diversity of your recruitment pipeline.

What do employers need to do?

Provide a work experience placement that is between 15-35 hours in duration. This is structured to your company’s requirements, such as blocks or days throughout the year
Offer opportunities for the student to develop their industry-specific technical skills
Arrange for a line manager to support, supervise and mentor the student
Ensure there is a safe work environment
Attend a review meeting with the student and a Work Experience Placement Officer at the end of the placement
Complete a health and safety risk assessment

Click here to contact our placement team or call us on 0161 785 4197

Student Testimonials

Pedro has gained valuable skills through work experience opportunities with the likes of Manchester City.

“The course has given me loads of opportunities. They’ve put me on a bunch of work experience, I’ve been able to go out to different colleges and participate in sport events. I think personally it’s made me feel confident going into the future. They teach you a lot of soft skills and hard skills because they put you on a lot of work experience.”

Pedro, Level 3 Sport and Exercise Science

Isabelle reflects on her placement and an opportunity to visit Salford University.

“[The T Level placement] gives you the opportunity to experience what health is while being in college. We went on a trip to Salford University and that really helped us in seeing the different wards and having a breakdown of what there is to come for us.”

Isabelle, T Level in Supporting the Midwifery Team

Jake reflects on the work experience he had with Oldham Foodbank.

“We did a marketing event for a charity, it allowed us to solely work on solving our own problems but also solving problems as a team as well. In terms of the enterprise and volunteering experience I did with them, I learned from people who’ve been in that experience in the real-world environment which has ultimately improved how I look at business.”

Jake, Level 3 Business in Marketing

Callum talks about a work experience opportunity has lead to getting a job.

“I ended up getting a work experience opportunity at Hays Travel and that gave me an eye opener, knowing what goes on behind the scenes at a travel agent. I’ve been able to use my skills, use my knowledge of travel and tourism to gain a job at Manchester Airport. ”