How The City of Liverpool College engages with local employers

The City of Liverpool College reflects on how employer partnerships have supported the successful delivery of the Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction T Level, through meaningful industry placements, collaborative curriculum development, and targeted professional development from the Education Training Foundation’s (ETF) T Level Professional Development (TLPD) offer.

How did the college engage with local employers to become involved with T Levels?

The City of Liverpool College has developed many solid relationships with both local firms and the regional offices of larger national and international companies. These symbiotic partnerships help give their T Level students a work placement that provides them with the best possible understanding of the careers they are studying towards. These in part feed into the College’s exam results, as in August 2025 their T Level courses achieved a 100% pass rate.

Did the college experience any challenges connecting with local employers?

Dr Lynn Borthwick is the Head of School - Engineering, Green Technologies and Logistics at the College and she works with the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) committee which covers Merseyside and North Wales. This local group meets regularly and supports T Level placements as well as contributing to curriculum development.

“Contacts are vital,” explains Dr Borthwick. “However, the process is largely evolutionary. We contact companies looking for placement opportunities, on other occasions they contact us. We’ve developed a solid network of around ten companies we deal with who are happy to take students or work with us,” she adds.

What successes has the college seen with industry placements for T Level students?

Since starting their courses in September 2025, two cohorts of the College’s first year students in design, surveying and planning have already visited the Alder Hey children’s hospital on Merseyside, where they have visited the neonatal ward to observe its construction. Meanwhile, second year students have begun an employer-led project set by multinational constructor Morgan Sindall that guarantees more than 100 hours of work experience for the students who work with them.

The relationship with Morgan Sindall also helps the students understand the world of sub-contracting, as the constructor introduced the students to the work of ‘subbies’ such as Speedy Hire plant equipment. On their visit to Alder Hey, the second-year students have also discussed the construction compound requirements with Morgan Sindall staff and Emerge, a waste management company. The students gained an oversight of the segregation of waste and subsequently met again with Speedy Hire and Morgan Sindall before planning and designing a possible compound for the construction of a new primary school that optimises sustainability, staff wellbeing and is considerate construction. 

A strong working relationship with Gill Roberts, the constructor’s senior social value manager, has been vital for the College. Existing even before T Levels, the mutually beneficial understanding between the two has helped many students gain work experience.

How has ETF’s T Level Professional Development (TLPD) offer supported the college?

The College has benefited from a range of support offered by the ETF. One particularly helpful event was the National T Level Conference in Manchester on Monday 30 June 2025. Wendy Davies, the College’s T Level lead in Design Surveying and Planning, attended and gained valuable insights from colleagues across other colleges also delivering T Levels.

Additionally, ETF’s Area Relationship and Development Lead (ARDL), Punam Khosla, has worked closely with a wide range of staff at The City of Liverpool College, including senior managers, curriculum leads, teachers, and business support teams, to deliver targeted professional development through the TLPD offer.

Where would the college like to see T Levels develop next, and how can employers support that journey?

Despite the successes of the College’s T Level courses and their relationships which foster industry placements, Dr Borthwick is not resting on her laurels. “We must always review and develop the content of the courses so that it stays relevant and pertinent to the needs of construction and engineering in the local area in which they are delivered,” she says.

“In future, there could also be greater flexibility in the timing of examinations, so they could break up the core content. We see several students coming into the qualification with lower grade GCSEs who would find it beneficial to have smaller exams across a longer timeline.

“In terms of the placements themselves, it would be great if larger companies were able to take a larger number of students. The cohort size is increasing significantly, so bigger companies taking more students would be a real step forward. That said, we are always very, very grateful for the support we receive for the learners,” she concludes.