YOUNG people are being reminded about a new qualification which helps to boost vocational skills and get youngsters into employment, higher study or apprenticeships.

Hampshire County Council are encouraging young people to look into taking a T Level qualification, which is is open to anyone who has completed their secondary education and is designed to help young people in their next steps after they finish school.

This week September 20 to September 27 is ‘T Level Week’ and marks one year since T Levels were first launched.

The qualification is two-years and is equivalent to two A Levels, which seek to widen the opportunities available to those between 16 and 17 by putting technical and academic qualifications on an equal footing, offering a blend of classroom learning alongside a placement.

Councillor Roz Chadd, the County Council’s executive lead member for children’s services, said: “T Levels are widening the opportunities available to more young people in Hampshire and giving them skills that are in high demand by employers as well as benefitting the wider economy.”

Cllr Chadd said that the qualification offers students a “fantastic” way to gain a technical qualification, and a placement in industry together with maths, English and digital requirements.

T Levels offer a blend of 80 per cent classroom learning alongside 20 per cent learning through an on-the-job structured industry placement, which makes them highly desirable as a qualification and directly relevant to employers.

This month also marks the expansion of T Levels for a whole new range of subjects, meaning that even more opportunities are now available to young people.

Some of the new topics introduced include building services, engineering for construction, digital business services, digital support services, health, healthcare science, onsite construction and science.

Cllr Chadd added: “T Levels will become one of the main choices for students after their GCSEs, alongside A Levels and apprenticeships, and I would encourage all post-16 students who are unsure about the next steps for their future, to find out more.”

T Levels are based on the same employer-developed occupational standards as apprenticeships are and the content meets the needs of industry standards and prepares all students for the working environment, further training or extra study.

To find out more about T Levels, including which schools and colleges are delivering T Level qualifications, you can visit tlevels.gov.uk.