Looking ahead: Celebrating the second year of agriculture's T Level

For the learners completing the new T Level across any of the four core pathways, there is plenty to reflect on and plenty to celebrate as they begin year two of the qualification. 

The four pathways available are: 

• Horticulture, Crop Production, Trees and Woodlands
• Floristry
• Land-based Engineering 
• Livestock Production 

Learners are already benefitting from the broad curriculum and industry experience that make up the T Level programme and with more colleges expected to take up the ALMP pathway in 2024, we’re looking forward to seeing the qualification go from strength to strength. 

ALMP industry success stories 

Employers have a crucial role to play in supporting learners by offering industry placements and opportunities to get involved with work tasks relevant to their training. 

Helen Martin of Bishop Burton College spoke to Farmers Weekly about the importance of the industry placement for learner development and the ways it helps to prepare young people for working life.

She said: “The exposure for students to workplace situations develops and builds a wealth of additional social skills that will give them a real edge in terms of employability. They learn to interact with colleagues and engage with external suppliers, work as part of a team dynamic and use their initiative to handle the social nuances of workplace environments. These soft skills are hugely appealing to prospective employers and highly valued by universities.”

Horticulture learners from Cirencester College have already had invaluable experiences in their first year of the T Level, working with Hortico Plant Centre on a floral display for the 75th anniversary of the Badminton Horse Trials and visiting RHS Garden Rosemoor and the Eden Project on a residential trip.

These experiences give learners a real insight into the reality of land-based careers, instilling the key technical skills they need to enter the workforce as well as the soft skills that can be applied to any job role. Industry placements also allow businesses the opportunity to help shape the workforce of the future, ensuring that the individuals entering the sector are ready to fill skill gaps and address recruitment challenges.

Promoting the longevity of the programme  

In the second year of the course, learners’ training - both in their centres and on placement - will start to focus on their chosen occupational specialism, working to gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours that will set them up to either progress directly into land-based roles or onto higher education.  

For ALMP to succeed in the long term it’s vital that every organisation and individual involved in delivery is able to not only fulfil their own role but also collaborate effectively.  

With the 45-day industry placement being a mandatory part of every T Level and industry professionals heavily involved in the development and review of qualifications, employers have a key role to play in the success of T Level learners. 

To enable employers to fulfil this role effectively City & Guilds has created its Employer Industry Boards (EIBs). These EIBs bring together industry representatives to ensure the skills being taught to learners fit the needs of the sector and to work together to build the workforce of the future. 

In addition to the EIBs we are also always on the lookout for employer validators who review the content, assessment and grade boundaries of our T Level pathways. These validators play a vital part in enabling the delivery of technical qualifications that create learners who are ready for work in their industries with the skills and behaviours that employers are looking for. 

Belinda Hurd, of John Hurd's Organic Watercress, is well aware of the importance of employer involvement in skills development.

She said: “I feel it’s absolutely essential that employers are aware of what students are learning, and the only way that education will be fit for purpose going forward is if the employers work with the awarding organisations to ensure the content is as fit for purpose as it can be.”

You can find out about the validation experience employers have been getting involved in, as well as other ways to engage with T Levels here. Complete our expression of interest form to speak to an Industry Manager about getting involved or contact Jackie Hough for more information.  

Associate opportunities to help the industry grow 

In order to successfully moderate and assess T Levels, City & Guilds employs individuals with industry knowledge across a range of associate roles alongside their current employment. These roles range from quality assurance and supporting centres through the approval process to working on the preparation, delivery and marking of the exams and assessments completed by learners.

Read more about how you can benefit from becoming an associate. And to find an associate role visit the City & Guilds T Levels associate vacancies page. 

Jackie Hough is the industry manager for Land-based services at City & Guilds, which delivers eight T Levels on behalf of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.

She has worked in the delivery, planning and management of further education courses for the land-based sector for two decades and is a proud family farmer in her own right, too.