Proud to be a Department for Education T Level student - Lashaun

Find out what Lashaun got up to on the industry placement at the Department for Education. Lashaun is in the first of studying a T Level in Digital Software Development at Saracens High School.

Hi, I'm Rashaun and I'm doing my T level industry placement at the Department for Education.

When receiving the news that I was doing my placement here, I couldn't believe that I would be working for a government department. I believe this was an opportunity to get insight of life behind the speeches I see on the news. The weeks leading up to my six week placement, I had a meeting with my manager, who gave me a short intro for what I was going to be doing.

Walking on my first day I didn't know what to expect, but straight away the team made me feel like I belonged. The team trusted me with real projects and I've created a poster for July's Diversity and Inclusion Support Month, written articles for the intranet, edited videos were external announcements such as the Rise Regional Plans.

Having colleagues take the time to guide me and listen to what I think has meant a lot. It made me more confident, not just in my work but in myself. What's stuck with me most is seeing how much people here care about education and about young people specifically.

I'm proud that I've shown what T level students can bring to a team. This placement hasn't just taught me new skills, it's showing me I've got something valuable to offer. I'm leaving with more confidence than I arrived with and that's going to stick with me.

I expect my six weeks here to go by so fast. I really enjoyed being in this work environment and being part of the team who've made my experience here memorable.