Learner Testimonial — Zoe, Business Analyst

T Levels are two-year courses that students can take after GCSEs. According to the Department for Education, they are broadly equivalent to three A Levels.

“T Levels offer students practical and knowledge-based learning at a school or college and on-the-job experience through industry placements. These courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and education providers so that the content meets the needs of industry and prepares students for entry into skilled employment, an Apprenticeship, or related technical study through further or higher education.”

In England, some businesses are creating pathways between T Levels and Apprenticeships to make the process smoother for their learners. One such learner is Zoe Dimitri-Brazil, who started her programme with Lloyds Banking Group straight after T Levels.

“My T-Level journey started when I’d just come off 6th Form. I did GCSEs in Business and Sociology but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do in terms of uni or Apprenticeships. Around that time, we had a career fair at my school in Clapham South, London, and my Business teacher mentioned T-Levels.

“My family and I thought about it; there was no question about it. Instead of uni debt and coming out of uni still needing experience to find a job, T Levels were much better. Tech is always in demand, and I did my research – there’s always a demand for women in tech.

“Looking back, I think that, had I done A Levels, it would have been harder for me. T Levels were hard, but they focused on one career path, Business and Technology, whilst A Levels are 3 subjects. For T Levels, I took three different tech courses – Business, Programming, and Law. Cyber Security sounded very interesting, especially because you can help people. Had I not done T Levels, I would have also looked into working for the police force, something tech-based for sure. You can do a lot with it.

“I started my T Levels in 2021. I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. As part of that, to pass T Levels, I needed to find a job placement for at least 45 days. I tried a Marketing role at first, a popular choice, but there wasn’t much tech involved. The company didn’t seem to know what to do with us. Looking back, it was good I did it though, because I got the insight that I didn’t like the field.

“My Career Coach at school kept looking for placements for me, as did I. She came across an opportunity with Lloyds Banking Group – two people were needed to start soon. Another student expressed interest too and Lloyds had a quick intro call with us; the following week, they told us we’d got the placement.

“The Lloyds placement was nine weeks during the summer holidays. Our mentor had a plan of for us, but we were allowed to explore and to choose; her plan covered the main structure of our programme.

“We worked with a lot of different departments. We made chat boxes with the Chat Box department, we tried to help the Cyber Security team improve the homepage, we did a Scrum Master project with the Scrum team, which was quite fun! During this placement, I realized I really liked Software Engineering; making websites was really fun too. During the nine weeks, we were also compiling all the evidence of what we’d learned; at the end, we presented this to Lloyds and at school.

“The T Levels showed us there are so many different types of jobs in banks, not just finance- or accounting-related – jobs you wouldn’t even think of! We were put into different sectors for two weeks – first two weeks, Cyber Security, then UX Design – very exciting and friendly! I saw two different offices; I was based in London Canary Wharf. It was very fun – everyone was nice!

“After the placement, we were told that, after finishing T Levels, we could be fast-tracked within the Apprenticeship scheme. We had shown the skills already, so instead of doing the test to get to the final stage, there would just be a call. At the time, I felt I didn’t have as much knowledge as other applicants, but doing the placement got me the experience I needed to be successful. Even though it was an Apprenticeship scheme, not many people between 18 and 25 get the opportunity to come out of their course and do an App because of the experience. You need a lot of experience to apply!

“We went through the Assessment Center and, after three weeks, Lloyds said there were no Software Engineering opportunities in London; would we be interested in a different role? There was an opportunity as Level 4 Business Analyst in Bristol and I went for it! I moved to Bristol for this; I like it a lot!”

So, would Zoe recommend her T Level and Apprenticeship journey?

“Definitely – take all the opportunities you can get! I’m a shy person too – put your hand up! T Levels get you started to learn on the job straight away.”