The Chartered Insurance Institute and Personal Finance Society are seeking insurance and financial planning firms to take part in an upcoming scheme to pilot T Level qualifications in insurance and finance.
T Levels are two-year, Level 3 qualifications available to 16 to 19-year-olds in England.
The qualifications have been designed in collaboration with employers and are equivalent in size to three A levels.
They have been developed to help young people acquire the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to progress into skilled employment, an apprenticeship, or further study.
The CII and PFS are seeking interest from firms across England to offer T Level placements.
Claire Bishop, career partner manager for the CII Group, said: “The new T Level qualifications are an exciting opportunity for young people to engage with the insurance and financial planning professions at a much earlier stage than is currently the case.
“These CII and PFS pilot schemes will allow us to work closely with employers and educators, providing the support needed to build a successful pathway for new talent.
“We would encourage any firm to consider participation in this mutually beneficial opportunity to shape the future of our professions.”
The CII and PFS said a T Level work placement has many benefits for employers, such as being able to attract motivated young people, bringing imaginative and new ideas, improve recruitment pipelines and address local and national skills gaps by helping young people develop necessary skills.
They are able to develop mentoring and management skills of existing colleagues, build a more diverse and creative workforce, play an important role in the local community and build partnerships with local training and education providers.
The new placement can also save recruitment costs by providing the opportunity to see what the young person can offer, on a no obligation employment basis.
As part of the T level qualifications, students must complete an industry placement that lasts a minimum of 315 hours (approximately 45 days) as part of their learning, giving them the opportunity to put their classroom learning into practice in a real workplace environment.
sonia.rach@ft.com
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