On Wednesday 26 June 2024, the 海角社区 and Training Foundation (ETF) and the Association of Colleges (AoC) hosted the National T Level Conference, providing those involved in T Level planning and delivery with an opportunity to come together and collaborate with colleagues from across the country at Leeds United Football Club鈥檚 Elland Road Stadium.
The conference provided a day of networking, learning and sharing of best practice to support the successful delivery of T Levels. The day started with warm welcomes from Paul Bailey, ETF鈥檚 Associate Director for T Level Professional Development (TLPD), and Stephanie Crane, AoC鈥檚 Delivery Lead 鈥 T Levels. The welcome was followed by an engaging keynote address from Jo Simovic, Curriculum Programme Manager at Amazon and incoming Chair of the T Level Ambassador Network, who shared employer insights and talked about her own journey with T Levels.
During the morning, delegates attended breakout sessions that provided practical support on topics such as engaging with employers, growing provision, and effective assessment strategies, alongside T Level and T Level Foundation Year question panels.
Lunch saw further networking between delegates and lots of activity and discussions with exhibitors at the event. After lunch, guest speaker Eddie 鈥楾he Eagle鈥 Edwards delivered an inspirational speech on his experience of overcoming challenge and adversity to become the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, going on to hold the British ski jumping record from 1988 to 2001.
In the afternoon, delegates were able to attend route specific 海角社区 and hear from awarding organisations (AOs), employers and other providers. Delegates made use of the opportunity to ask questions of key external stakeholders, hear real experiences, insights and challenges, and learn practical tips to support future planning and successful delivery of T Levels.
Paul Bailey, ETF鈥檚 Associate Director for TLPD, said: 鈥淚t was fantastic to see so many people joining us in Leeds for the National T Level Conference hosted with AoC. Delegates were buzzing with enthusiasm about the opportunity to share their T Level experiences, challenges and best practice with other colleagues from across the country. Having been able to ask questions of panels, attend informative breakout sessions, and learn from each other, I hope delegates left feeling enthused and equipped with further tools to support their T Level delivery and practice.鈥