Delivering good growth - How holistic business support and employer engagement delivered T Level success in Greater Manchester
- Thursday, January 8, 2026
- Posted By The Growth Company
As Greater Manchester marks a major milestone with the achievement of 1,000 T Level industry placements, Janine Smith, Director of GM Business Growth Hub, part of the Growth Company (GC), reflects on GC’s role in reaching this milestone and how a holistic approach to business support is driving good growth across the city-region.
Greater Manchester’s ambition is clear: to build a thriving city-region where everyone can live a good life. Achieving this requires more than isolated interventions - it demands a joined-up, holistic approach to economic development that benefits everyone.
That’s our model at the Growth Company. Our integrated business support offer spans workforce development, leadership, innovation, internationalisation and more, helping businesses scale, attracting investment, and delivering inclusive growth across the city-region.
By leveraging Greater Manchester’s business support eco-system and our strong relationships with employers, we’ve played a significant role in Greater Manchester’s T Level placement success.
T Levels are a new type of technical qualification, co-designed with employers to address skills gaps and future-proof the workforce.
They are a key part of the Greater Manchester Baccalaureate (MBacc), the city-region’s approach to technical education, creating a genuine and equal alternative to university, giving young people a clear line of sight to high-quality jobs in our growing economy.
Each T Level includes a high-quality 45-day work placement, making employer engagement absolutely critical. Using our insight into the needs of the businesses we work with, our role has been helping business understand the benefits of T Levels for their business, building a pipeline of future talent, bringing new skills and fresh ideas, and giving young people invaluable real-world opportunities.
Working closely with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, the Employer Integration Board, and other partners we launched a dedicated campaign to encourage employers to pledge T Level placements. By uniting our business support colleagues - each with unique networks and insights - we’ve expanded and leveraged our reach across the Greater Manchester business landscape.
The result? More than 750 pledges from over 200 employers.
Businesses like KANE International, a manufacturing firm in Atherton, Wigan with ambitions to expand globally and build its talent pipeline. Through a tailored programme of leadership development, lean manufacturing, and export strategy, KANE is achieving ambitious growth targets – on track for £30M turnover by 2030. As part of their ongoing commitment to workforce development and inclusive growth KANE offered T Level placements to four students. Former student Charlie, is now an apprentice at KANE, and has championed how the T Level placement changed his life, giving him a clear path into a career: “It wasn’t just about watching — I was doing real work, solving problems and learning new skills every day.”
KANE is just one of many employers who are reaping the business benefits of welcoming T Level students into their workplace. We’re also proud to welcome our own T Level students – after committing to ten placements. They have brought energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas and I’m looking forward to seeing what they achieve.
As a pioneering social enterprise, we’re committed to leveraging our credentials and relationships to continue driving inclusive economic growth that leaves no person or community behind.
As evidenced by the success of T Levels, we understand the challenges and opportunities facing Greater Manchester businesses. In response, we provide comprehensive business support, skills development and interventions to support people’s health, wellbeing and access to employment – tailored to the needs of businesses, people and places.
Have you pledged yet? We need more employers to pledge T Level placements for the next cohort of students. Make a pledge and help shape the future workforce and drive economic growth in Greater Manchester.