“When it comes to work placements, the bottom line is: they deliver jobs,” says Lisa O’Loughlin, principal of the Manchester College.

Last year, 3,700 work placements were undertaken by college students, some two-week placements, others were 40 days. In fact, when it comes to the number of 40-day placements delivered by the college, it actually made up 20 per cent of the overall Department for Education (DfE) national target for the college sector. Employer engagement and securing placements are already at the heart of what the college does – but now, it is going one step further. 

This week, O'Loughlin announced the launch of the Industry Excellence Academy – a brand-new branch of the college, which will offer level 2 and level 3 courses for students in 10 curriculum areas – co-created with more than 1,000 employers and with industry placements at their heart.  

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This journey began in 2016, when the college published its strategy for 2020. In it, there were two key commitments: to encourage high aspiration in students and to shift the college’s focus from delivering qualifications to being a catalyst for career progression. 

“We re-engineered the whole learner journey and student experience, and now it’s all focused around a career conversation, from the very time the student applies we ask them what kind of career they want to undertake, and some of them say, 'I don’t know', but we continue to have that conversation so it focuses their mind throughout,” she says. 

“We also wanted to look to see if we could work with employers so they would design the qualification, design the curriculum, co-deliver the curriculum, and then co-brand it. We knew that if a student came to us on those courses, that they would get a long and extended engagement with the employer.”

And that’s exactly what they did – 24 courses have been developed and, from September 2020, these courses will sit within the Industry Excellence Academy. 

“The employers told us 'don’t do this or that', or 'that’s not relevant any more, let’s do this instead'. And then they built in additional modules on top, too, saying 'actually, we need these skills, too', and they’ve developed those with us. We know that the students are getting a sector relevant experience – the dialogue with employers is continuous”, says O'Loughlin. 

A stepping stone to T levels

When the college begins to deliver T levels in 2021, the new qualifications will also sit within the academy. The similarities between the two courses are obvious – but O'Loughlin says the co-created courses aren’t designed to compete with T levels, but complement them as a stepping stone. 

“Students will come in, we will build their experience with employers up through the co-created curriculum and then we will see many of them go on to T levels,” she says. 

Concerns have been raised widely about employers' commitment to work placements – in particular the T level industry placements – especially as they rebuild after Covid-19. But O'Loughlin isn’t worried about students from the Manchester College finding themselves without a placement: college links with employers are too strong, she believes. 

“Most of our employers have been great and have said if we can’t do the placement physically on our premises, we will do it and shift it online or extend it over a long period of time. While it is more challenging for employers, we haven’t seen the drop off we expected. They are continuing to make that commitment. We are planning to deliver more than 450 placements for up to 60 days next year,” she says. 

The ‘match service’

The key to successful work placements for both students and the employer is a bit of match-making, says O’Loughlin. Prior to any placement, college staff will go and see the employer to prepare them for what their role will be, and ensure they are committed to supporting students. At the same time, a lot of work is done with students to build confidence, introduce workplace behaviours and instil a sense of commitment. 

“One employer might be right for one student, but may not be right for all of our students. We do that and, as a result, the employers give us brilliant feedback, where they say we have taken the pain out of the process for them,” she says. 

“In the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve brought on 1,000 new employers, and as you develop those relationships, you get to know them and they start telling you what they want and what sort of student they are looking for. We know that if we meet their expectations, they are more likely to offer the student an opportunity at the end of it.” 

And the employer engagement doesn’t start when the student enrolls at colleges – but way before that. Employers attend open days to have those conversions with potential students and parents about possible careers and pathways.

The looming crisis in youth employment

While the academy has been in the works for years, it couldn’t be coming at a better time for students in Manchester. Research has been shared by a plethora of organisations warning of a rise in unemployment – particularly for young people. 

“We know that youth employment is a feature of a recession – and what our commitment has been is to give the student the best possible opportunity in the labour market. And if we are introducing them to employers, if we are honing their skills beyond the skills acquisition that sits within a qualification, we know that they are gaining those employability skills,” she says. 

“We believe that is the right thing to do, we believe that is the best possible option for a young person. It’s a foot in the door with actual employers. You know the employers, they know you: you already have a relationship,” says O'Loughlin.