THE Greater Manchester Baccalaureate is giving young people a clear route into vital public service careers, thanks to a new T Level placement scheme.
Employers and colleges have come together to create hundreds of high-quality opportunities working in the NHS and across the Bee Network, our integrated public transport system.
These include Greater Manchester’s first T Level placements in midwifery at the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, as well as new placement pledges from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, (the largest single-site cancer centre in Europe), Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust, and other health and care organisations.
The placements are part of a plan to make it easier for young people to pursue a technical education through the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate, or MBacc.
Co-designed with education and business leaders and with young people themselves, the MBacc draws on local labour market data to guide learners to sectors that are growing in Greater Manchester.
T Levels are one of the key technical education pathways that make up the MBacc. Typically studied over two years, by 16-19-year-olds, they are equivalent to three A Levels.
T Level students spend 80% of their time in the classroom and 20% on an industry placement, which lasts a minimum of 45 days. These placements are designed to give students real-world experience in their chosen sector, helping them to move into jobs, apprenticeships or higher education.
Hands-on work experience is hard-wired into the MBacc and, by September, students will be able to choose between hundreds of T Level placements across the city-region.
Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), Bee Network bus operators, Network Rail and train operating companies have pledged to create 160 new T Level and apprenticeship placements in 2025, including in engineering, transport operations, and project support.
Increasing numbers of health and care providers are offering at least 400 placements across both clinical and non-clinical roles, including placements in infection control and chemotherapy at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and plumbing and electrical engineering at Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said:
“These placements show that our MBacc offers a genuine alternative to the university route. When you look at the kinds of placements on offer – from engineering to midwifery and chemotherapy – it’s clear that a technical education opens doors to top professions.
“The opening up of more than 300 prestigious opportunities in our best-known public services will be a game-changer for many young people, creating a ladder into great careers which they might otherwise have struggled to access. At the same time, we’re creating the skilled workforce our economy and public services need.
“This is what devolution is all about, doing things differently to deliver better outcomes for everyone. The Growth Company has done groundbreaking work to drive up the number of placements from our major employers. With further devolution of post-16 education, we could unlock even more opportunities.
“I’d like to thank all those employers who’ve already pledged to create T Level placements and apprenticeships, and I’d urge more to get involved – so we can help our young people and our economy to fulfil their potential.”
group of Oldham College students are the first in Greater Manchester to begin T Level midwifery placements within the NHS. Working alongside maternity teams at the Royal Oldham Hospital, which is part of the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, they’re gaining hands-on experience on wards with extended clinical placements set to begin in September.
The programme was developed through a collaboration between NHS Greater Manchester, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Oldham College, the Gatsby Foundation, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). It’s backed by devolved investment and designed to help meet critical NHS workforce shortages, while giving students the confidence and experience to pursue rewarding careers in health and care.
Romiejay Williams, a Midwifery T Level student at Oldham College, said:
“T Levels have given me the chance to learn in the classroom and on the job which has made all the difference. Being on placement has helped me understand what it’s really like to work in the NHS and what skills I need. It’s made my goals feel real and reachable, and I know I’m gaining experience that will help me wherever I go next.”
