Make technical education work for UK marine industry

British Marine urges any member with an interest in the future technical skills required by the marine industry, to get involved with this Government consultation on the new T levels.

The Government’s new T level study programme, working alongside apprenticeships, represents an excellent opportunity to help address some of the UK marine industry’s well documented skills gaps. This is why British Marine’s Training Manager, Blue Davies, applied (and was chosen) to sit on the working group which will design and develop the engineering and manufacturing course, set to go live in 2020/21.

In October, British Marine updated members on Blue’s appointment to the working group and the Government’s T level Action Plan. The new T levels are technical study programmes designed primarily to support entry to skilled employment in technical occupations at Level 3 and above. T levels study will mainly take place at an education or training provider (unlike apprenticeships which are primarily ‘on the job’ training programmes) and students will study a broad occupational area before specialising, and will have the opportunity to apply their knowledge and skills on a substantial work placement.

The Government is consulting now on the proposals for T levels and the wider reformed technical education system. It is seeking views on how best to implement the reforms so that they meet the technical needs of employers. These reforms will be challenging for education and training providers to deliver, which is why it is absolutely imperative that employers get engaged and submit their views too.

The consultation document is available via this link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementation-of-t-level-programmes

The consultation document includes a range of key questions that need answering and details on how to submit responses. Blue, and his colleagues on the new working panel, will also be engaging with the consultation and its proposals, so British Marine members may also provide their feedback and views, as well as questions about the new T levels, direct to Blue at adavies@britishmarine.co.uk