Education & Future Skills

St. Modwen bolsters construction T Levels with £10,000 donation to Thomas Telford UTC

This September, learners at Thomas Telford UTC will have access to industry-standard IT resources and hands-on employer experiences as St. Modwen ramps up its support for construction T Levels with the college. 

St. Modwen has made a £10,000 donation to the Wolverhampton-based college, which will be used to deliver a new IT suite with high-spec PCs that feature industry-standard software such as computer aided design (CAD). Match funded by the Department for Education’s T Levels Capital Fund, the combined £20,000 will help implement the IT infrastructure the college needs ahead of its first intake of T Level students this summer. 

Sitting on Thomas Telford UTC’s Employer Partner Group, St. Modwen joined other local employers to interview young people for this year’s T Level intake. In addition, St. Modwen is providing industry placements to students enrolled in the Construction, Design, Surveying and Planning course at its ‘Banbury Place’ residential development in Wolverhampton. 

St. Modwen’s partnership with Thomas Telford UTC bolsters its commitment to developing the next generation of skilled talent, in which it is investing 1% of its cash profits each year into education partnerships and is aiming to positively impact over 20,000 young people by 2025. 

Alison Tucker, Early Careers and Training Co-Ordinator at St. Modwen, said: “Bringing the next generation of skilled talent into the construction sector is crucial to its long-term success. We are thrilled to be extending our partnership with Thomas Telford UTC and helping it to deliver ‘world-beating’ T Levels that give students the very best of both classroom and on-the-job learning.” 

Simon Maxfield, Vice Principal at Thomas Telford UTC, said: “T Levels mark a step change in Technical Education and provide a wonderful opportunity to enter a growth sector where skills are in huge demand. At the heart of our programme are the contributions made by our Employer Partners to delivery, experiences and resources for students. St. Modwen has worked very closely with us in recent years to develop an educational programme we believe is second to none.” 

St. Modwen is also supporting the college with other early careers and development initiatives. Recently, it took part in a ‘We Want You’ event to over 100 students to raise awareness of apprenticeship routes into the sector. It also welcomed a group of 16- and 17-year-old as part of a pilot virtual work experience programme with Women into Construction. This year, St. Modwen is delivering an employer project for Year 7 students as part of the CREST Awards, which inspire young people to engage with science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects.