20.05.2025

Manufacturing businesses across England are operating in a fast-evolving landscape. With new technologies, shifting markets, and an ageing workforce, the challenge isn’t just filling vacancies – it’s finding the right talent to meet your business needs, both now and in the future. So how can small and medium-sized manufacturers attract and retain the skilled workers they need to grow?

A new route to recruitment

Apprenticeships are a well-known route to full-time recruitment – and for good reason. They provide hands-on experience, offer businesses a chance to shape the next generation of workers, and are a proven, long-standing way of building in-house capability.

T Level Industry Placements are a new option for employers. T Levels are technical qualifications for 16–18-year-olds, designed by employers to make sure students have the skills businesses need. 

Each T Level includes a 45-day industry placement giving students a chance to put the technical skills they’ve learnt into action. Industry placements are flexible around business needs. They can be completed in a block, on day release or a mixture of both. They can even be shared with another employer – and they’re  a good opportunity to test out future talent, build a pipeline of skills, and support your business’s growth.

T Levels in action: why they work for small businesses

For micro-business MedTec on the Isle of Wight, the local talent pool is limited – and competition is fierce. 

“Finding good staff is a constant battle, and we don’t want to poach from others. We prefer to grow our own talent.” Explains MedTec Director, Daniel Carley.

“By partnering with the Isle of Wight College, we were able to host a T Level Engineering and Manufacturing student on industry placement – and when we hit a busy period and needed an extra pair of hands, the decision was clear.

“We decided to offer Ethan, our brilliant T Level student, an apprenticeship as a way of developing our future workforce. We’ve invested time into training and supporting him and that’s paying back dividends – he knows the business well and how we work; he’s thriving.”

T Level placements act like an extended recruitment process – allowing employers to get to know a student’s potential, attitude, and skills before making the long-term commitment of an apprenticeship. 

“We’re laying some great foundations for whatever career Ethan wants to pursue.” Continued Daniel. “If every business did the same, collectively we’d be well on our way to solving the industry’s long-standing skill shortage.

“I would 100% take on another T Level student. I really think more companies should give it a go and make life a bit easier for themselves in the long run.”

To find out more about offering a T Level industry placement, visit employers.tlevels.gov.uk.