The T Level Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction course is equivalent to three A levels and covers areas such as architecture, quantity surveying and project management.
We spoke to T Level Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction students, Hannah and Jacob, about this two-year T Level course. Discover why they joined, what they’ve learnt, and their career goals below.
Why did you choose this course?
Hannah: “I did some work for my uncle doing electrics and I enjoyed learning about CAD in Design and Technology at school so I chose this course. I like the practical lessons.”
Jacob: “I chose a T level course because when I was looking for options on Kent Choices for the College, and it showed me I had a wide variety of career choices after this course. Not only would it give me the opportunity to be a civil engineer, which is what I want to do, but you learn about project management and other areas that you can go into after the course.”
What is the first year of the course like?
Hannah: “A third of this year has been more practical. We’ve been doing an Employer Set Project, which covers the different bases of what we need to learn. We did a Gantt Chart for a project timeline, an architecture report, elevations of our design, and CAD drawings. There were also two written exams in the first year.”
Jacob: “The things we’ve learned this year are useful. A lot of the times when we have exams, what we’ve learned on our projects really helps with it, because we understand it more, so it makes the exam questions easier.”
What do you do at your work placement?
Hannah: “I’m on a site in Ashford with Bowmer and Kirkland; they’re building a secondary school there. I’ve been doing work for the quantity surveyors and site managers, and they’ve been teaching me how they do things. I’ve been working on order acquisitions and measures, and doing inductions with the project managers.
“I’ve found that the work I’m doing on my placement is helping with the theory in College because the stuff you see in the real world helps you answer the exam questions and just gives you a lot more insight.”
Jacob: “My work placement is for a company called Madison’s Interior Design. They’re building a school in Pilgrim’s Way. They’ll give me tasks like calculating the cost of this, how many studs we’ll need, what’s the difference, etc. They make me feel involved.”
What do you want to do after finishing the course?
Hannah: “I’m not sure, but I’m in between either being a CAD technician, going into architecture, or quantity surveying. I’m hoping to get a degree apprenticeship after this course.”
Jacob: “I want to be a civil engineer when I finish this course. I plan to go to university to study civil engineering.”
Learn more about our T Level Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction course and other Construction and the Built Environment courses on our website.
More articles
Experiencing the realities of Care: learning through work placements in diverse settings
Professional Standards Week inspires Landbased, Environmental and Animal Care students
