National Apprenticeship Week 2024: T Level work placements at Port of Dover

As part of National Apprenticeship Week 2024, we’re highlighting the importance of apprenticeships and T Levels in ports.

On ‘T Level Thursday’, Port of Dover shares how the port is working with its local college to provide T Levels work placements.

T Level work placements allow you to find out how someone actually fits in with your team, how passionate they are at what they do and what they thrive at.

Marisa George, Learning and development Partner, port of dover

Port of Dover T Level work placement process:

• Presentation to T Level students at the local college, including an introduction to the Port of Dover and an overview of what it’s like to work in specific areas within the port.
• Interview students for the work placements. This is often the student’s first step into the real world of work and creating a CV so it’s important to the port to give students this experience.
• Tailor work placements around the candidates and what they’re interested in alongside their assigned mentor.

All (T Level students) need a placement to pass their course and continue onto their career. This is something wonderful that you can do, you can offer a placement.

For us, that placement would like look two days per week over 26 weeks with some time during the school holidays where they’ll come in and work. We set them work to do, tasks and some work shadowing.

Students can see something through from start to finish in those couple of days.

Marisa george, learning and development partner, port of dover