We supported Exeter College with the development and roll out of their Construction T Level.
T Levels are new courses which follow GCSEs and are equivalent to 3 A levels. These 2-year courses, launched in September 2020, have been developed in collaboration with employers and businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for work, further training or study.
The first year the Construction T Level was delivered was during the COVID-19 pandemic. This meant we had to think differently about our offering.
One of the main aspects of the course is an industry placement, giving students exposure to a real-life work environment. Lockdowns means that nearly all of our face-to-face interaction with students from Exeter College had to stop.
To continue engaging with students, we arranged a series of talks which we delivered virtually via Microsoft Teams. This took place over a ten-week period and involved individuals from multiple construction backgrounds – from Construction to Quantity Surveying to Design to Environmental - who shared their story on how they got into the industry, gave an insight into their job role, and gave the students the opportunity to ask further questions.
Once the lockdown eased, we visited the students at the construction centre and set them a planning activity to help them understand the work involved to programme a project.
We also teamed up with Exeter City Council and their tree officer, to remove plastic tree guards from Topsham Wood. As a group, we managed to dispose of two dumpy bags of plastic tree guards which will be recycled and made into new items.
Robin Goodman, Construction T level tutor at Exeter College, said: “We really appreciate the effort that the Willmott Dixon team have made to augment our T Level students' learning. We look forward to building our relationship even further in the future.”
Neil Baglow, Construction T level tutor added: “I am extremely impressed with the range and depth of experience that Willmott Dixon have so kindly provided over the past months with online delivery. My students have had a great insight into the team of professionals involved in a project, from inception to delivery. This has enhanced our teaching and added the facet, which can only come from interaction with professionals at the ‘coal face’.”
Louise Dennis, Construction Industry Placement Officer: “I received feedback from a student, who, after listening to the architects talking about the project, said that he is now interested in pursuing a career in architecture. He wants to explore the possibility of carrying out his industry placement at an architect office in Exeter.”