From worksheets to workplace: how Industry Placements build real employability skills
Precious chose a T Level because it matches how she learns best: by doing.
“I chose to take a T Level because I discovered that I’m more of a practical learner. I enjoyed learning and then putting in the work — not just learning but understanding what the teachers say. That’s where the Industry Placement comes in.”
An Industry Placement is a core part of every T Level. Students spend a significant amount of time with an employer, completing real work that builds the skills employers need. For Precious, the Industry Placement isn’t an extra, it’s the point where learning becomes real. She describes her placement as a turning point for both confidence and career direction.
“Placements have helped me grow professionally and personally in different ways. Firstly, it has given me a wider understanding of my class work. Sometimes it just feels like, ‘What is this in a textbook?’ But it’s more like practising that particular thing… in the real world — how it’s actually used.”
A key theme in Precious’s story is how placement deepens understanding, not by replacing classroom learning, but by making it stick.
“We do some work in [college] and then go to placement to do the practicals. It then gives you a broader understanding of that particular thing we did in class. You’re getting the practical experience, and then you’re analysing what you’ve learned.”
Through her course and placement, Precious feels her understanding of business has expanded and she’s now aiming higher.
“Getting into T Level business has opened my mind to many things of how the real world works. After my course and my placement, I’ll be going for an apprenticeship for business analytics. The course has given me the qualification to go for my apprenticeship.”