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Updates: Colleges & Business Units | Commercial Outlets and Nurseries
Advice for: Students, Parents and Carers | College Applicants | Apprentices
Updates: Colleges & Business Units | Commercial Outlets and Nurseries
Advice for: Students, Parents and Carers | College Applicants | Apprentices
A record number of young people have taken up the brand new T Level courses across EKC Group, and already they’re seeing the benefits of the Government’s most recent qualification.
With the Association of Colleges’ T Levels Week running from Monday 10 October to Friday 14 October, now is the perfect time to explore how T Levels work and to celebrate the successes already being seen on our courses.
What are T Levels
T Levels are two-year qualifications which provide learners with both practical training in the College and on the job experience in their chosen sector. Equivalent to three A Levels, the qualifications is comprised of 80 per cent in-college training with a block 20 per cent work placement. Through EKC Group’s wealth of industry links, our students get relevant placements which allow them to put their learnt skills into practice. T Level students also get access to more specialised equipment during lectures, such as our Health pathway ‘simulation suite’ that accurately reflects a healthcare setting.
EKC Group’s T Levels
Acting as a trailblazer for the Government’s exciting new qualification, already they have proven successful with outstanding feedback from our first cohort of students last year. We are now rolling out a broader array of T Level pathways across even more Colleges, with Ashford, Broadstairs, Canterbury, Dover Technical College, and Folkestone all now offering different pathways depending on your ambitions.
Our T Level Students
With more than 340 young people currently studying T Levels across EKC Group’s family of community colleges, the qualifications are already proving to be popular with students. Leonie Earl, who is in her second year studying a Health T Level at Canterbury College, said: “Studying on the Health T Level has been really great. I've been able to use the skills I've learnt on my course during my industry placement at Crownwood Healthcare, a local nursing home in Temple Ewell.
“You really gain a connection with the residents, and I feel like I'm making a positive difference to their time in the home. As well as carrying out everyday care, I'm able to shadow the nurses on their medical round, and have carried out medical procedures.
“The Simulation Suite at College is brilliant. It has state-of-the-art equipment that we use for our learning, allowing us to practice carrying out hundreds of different medical procedures.
“In our first year, we visited Greenwich University, and I had the opportunity to practice delivering a baby in their maternity simulation ward. This was an amazing experience for me, as I aspire to study midwifery at university."
Will Tubby is only a month into his Digital Support T Level at Dover Technical College, but is already loving the course.
He said: “If you want to come to a college, rather than a sixth form, then T Levels are the way to go. They’re so much more than a normal qualification and are designed to lead you straight into employment.
“It’s been really good, I’ve not started my work experience yet, but I think it’s a great idea to have it as a significant part of the course. I’ve applied to do my work experience at the Pitman Training Centre in Dover, because I think it will help me explore automation more which is an area I really enjoy and want to go into.
“I like the fact it has so many UCAS points, and that it is all centred around one subject, rather than three like it is in A Levels. It means it’s more in-depth, and the college has specialist equipment you don’t get in secondary school.”
To find out more about T Levels, and the T Levels on offer across EKC Group, click here
