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Aiden Darlow, Cosmic Key

14 March 2022
Aiden Darlow

We found out about T-Levels offering students work placements through Kevin Jeffrey at Middlesbrough College, after seeing us in a local news article Kevin emailed our company as he thought the opportunity would be great for both us and students at Middlesbrough College. We aim to support Middlesbrough and our local area in any way we can, so collaborating with Middlesbrough College to provide T-Level placements was a great chance for us as a business.

At the moment we currently have 1 T-Level student completing work experience with us at Cosmic Key, however we would definitely consider taking on more when the chance arises.

I think one of the main benefits of taking on T-Level students is being able to train learners into industry roles, whilst using their training and progression to add value to our business and products. All of the T-Level and Work Placement students we have taken on are now producing industry standard work, albeit at a slow page, but the speed comes with time!

We would totally recommend taking on T-Level students to other businesses, however it is important they make sure they can put aside time to provide proper industry training and education for the student, making sure the placement is a meaningful one for everyone involved.

We feel that our T Level Student is incredibly competent and he is a valuable asset to our business. He has worked across many areas of our Company and has performed well in all of the jobs we have given him so far. He is engaged and if he doesn’t know something then he will research it on his own time. Additionally, our non T Level Interns are all very capable and engaged too, we’re very happy to have the opportunity to educate some young people from Middlesbrough College and to provide great placements for each of them.

So, we would say this opportunity has helped us feel ahead of the game and has been an incredible opportunity for our business.

Throughout this process thus far Middlesbrough College have remained actively in contact with us, giving us the chance to speak to multiple people from multiple departments – who have all been very friendly and have offered us help in any way they can. Plus, our contact Kevin is very communicative and any problems that arise are resolved within a matter of days.