Evolution of industry placements in the DfE

Drop-in sessions were held once a month, giving line managers a chance to be directly involved in setting up the placement processes as well as sharing their experience of using them for the first time.

By the time the placements finished, many more resources had been introduced, to reflect the number of students in the department and the variety of experiences. And there were also many new lessons to learn.

Growth

Foundations

The DfE’s industry placement programme reflects the department’s commitment to learn first-hand what it’s really like to host T Level students on industry placements so other organisations can learn from their experience.

The speed and scale with which the programme has evolved is built on:

• Pragmatic approach to developing the processes and systems needed to grow a high-quality, sustainable placement programme
• Flexibility to change the approach in the light of experience, including feedback from line managers and students

Recruitment

Planning and preparation during the test and learn phase meant that a new and ambitious round of recruitment could start without delay, even before the first students had finished their T Levels.

To maintain a steady volume and geographical spread of students on placement at any one time, DfE’s placement coordinators:

• Secured senior sponsors across the division, including asking the Permanent Secretary to launch the campaign
• Created an on-going, targeted comms campaign to encourage teams to volunteer to host students
• Highlighted the improvements made to the programme throughout to reassure new and existing line managers
• Established relationships with new providers and continued to foster relationships with existing providers

So far DfE has hosted students either on one of the T Levels in the Digital route or on the Business and Administration T Level. The department is now exploring how it can expand its placement offering into other relevant T Level subjects, such as Finance, Legal and Accounting.  

Teething problems

Managing such an ambitious process inevitably led to a few teething problems in the early stages of scaling up the programme, such as:

• Pre-employment security checks took longer than expected, with some students not having all the documents they needed to prove their address or identity. The length and complexity of the standardised application form also meant some students struggled to navigate the requirements- especially those who had to undertake additional steps (e.g. because they had spent considerable time abroad or had non-UK passports).
• Creating a standardised induction offer for students was difficult with students spread across multiple sites and starting at different times.
• Line managers sometimes felt the pressure of hosting, especially where they had never managed a young person before or had more than one student to look after.
• Some of the less experienced providers were not always consistent in their communication and engagement - e.g. providing upfront information before the placement, supporting students through pre-employment checks and checking in on students whilst on placement.

To address these teething problems, a range of solutions were tested and implemented during the summer evaluation period:

• Guidance and preparation for pre-employment checks was improved through allowing students to submit documentation that was easier for them to procure (e.g. a letter from their college principal), the creation of a bespoke step-by-step guide for students in terms they could understand and firmer upfront communication to providers about the requirement for them to support students throughout this process.
• To provide better upfront communication, resource pack for line managers, providers and students are now provided once placements are confirmed, so all parties have all the key information they need about the process and what’s expected of them, right from the start. Providers are now also required to provide information about students’ learning goals, reasonable adjustments and career aspirations before placement opportunities are confirmed.
• To improve line manger support and capacity, a limit of two students per manager was set to ensure colleagues don’t become over-stretched and the frequency of line manager drop-ins was increased from monthly to fortnightly. More centralised support has also been provided on student induction, training and behaviour management through the creation of additional guidance and resources on the Line Manager SharePoint.
• Every student now has a pre-placement induction at their regional office, where they meet their line manager and attend an introductory session on working in the Civil Service, to provide an opportunity to surface any issues or concerns before the placement starts and make the first day of the placement less daunting for students. Students also access employability training through a dedicated Student SharePoint site, including core skills relevant to their roles such as project management, data analysis and finance.

In preparation for a whole new cohort of students, on top of the students continuing their placements from the year before, the small coordinating team has established a broadly standardised approach. Georgia Lavin, Policy Lead in the T Level Industry Placements Policy Team, explains why:

“Not everyone thinks about industry placements in the way we do. We want to give all our students a comparable high-quality placement, even though their individual experiences may differ. And to do that we need to give more information upfront to line managers, providers and the students themselves so expectations are clear from the outset.”

Evolution

Standardisation and quality

Beyond the improvements made to address specific challenges, the team has also introduced measures to help standardise the process and facilitate more overlap between students on placement:

• In most cases, the number of providers was reduced to one per location – to improve consistency and simplify coordination
• A tighter timetable was introduced – with pre-employment checks carried out November to January and a 2-week deadline for providers to put candidates forward for selection- so as many students as possible start at roughly the same time, from February onwards
• Greater use of automation is used during the onboarding phase- including Microsoft Power Automate – so the process is tracked and managed efficiently
• Opportunities are created for groups of students from different locations and providers to come together for events, e.g. to hear from apprentices at the DfE about what they are doing and the options for progression into the Civil Service

Rachel Bamford, who is responsible for running the logistics of the programme, explains why these and other quality improvements are so important at this stage of evolution:

“We’re about to have a new batch of students coming in, so it’s a great time to focus on the quality of their experience. We’ve learned a lot from last year, and knowing what makes delivery effective means that the placements can be an even better opportunity for them.”

Impact

Despite the teething problems, bringing a lot of young people into the organisation in a short time has had a positive impact, says Andrea Kay, Head of T Levels Industry Placement Policy:

“There’s definitely a sense that we’re moving in the right direction. The organisation is much more aware of T Levels and industry placements are becoming part of the mainstream. There are many examples of placements working well, and where there have been challenges, they’ve helped us to make the process more manageable.”

Most line managers feel enthusiastic about the experience of hosting students, observes Hazel Holmes:

“These T Level students bring enthusiasm and youth into the room. They come with a lot of energy and new ideas. They’re keen to hear and they also want to share their own ideas. There’s a buzz in the team when they’re here.”

 As positive messages like these spread more widely, line managers across the organisation are increasingly keen to host a student in their team.

Student progression

A key next step for the programme is supporting student progression into the department. DfE has already seen one of their students, on the Digital Production, Design and Development T Level, progress into a Level 4/5 apprenticeship in the team that hosted their industry placement. Now the department is exploring how it can better support students to progress into a permanent role once they’ve finished their course, as currently students must go through the same recruitment process as any external applicant, regardless of their performance on placement.

The department is also creating closer links between its’ apprenticeship network and yearly intake of T Level students, so the latter can gain a better understanding of the apprenticeship options available to them in the department (and wider civil service) and receive advice and support on the application process.

Student profiles

This section gives short profiles of two T Level students who have been on an industry placement at the DfE.

Janae

T Level management and administration student Janae did her placement in DfE’s Manchester office.

Since Janae was part of the initial small pilot of students, she played a key role in working with the team to develop processes and resources to support other students coming into placements in the department. She also played a key role in the DfE’s employer engagement programme of work, including planning and delivering presentations at regional conferences to promote the benefits of hosting a T Level student to local employers.

As well as gaining a Distinction in her T Level, Janae was highly commended in the 2024 Gatsby T Level Student of the Year award and is now a T Level student ambassador.