Employers are calling on the government to raise awareness of the cash incentives available for T Levels after more than two-thirds of a £10 million industry placements fund went unspent.
FE Week can reveal that the Department for Education clawed back £6.75 million of the cash that was on offer from May 2021 to July 2022.
Employers could claim a £1,000 cash boost for every T Level student they hosted on a 315-hour industry placement. There were no stipulations about how the money should be used, but it was designed to aid set-up costs, buy additional equipment and train staff on how to supervise placement students.
The DfE told FE Week, through a Freedom of Information request, that the £3.25 million distributed under the scheme supported 3,241 incentive payments through 1,628 employers.
