The British Takeaway Campaign (BTC), in partnership with the UK’s leading educational publication Tes, brought together experts from across business, education and policy to tackle how to make the new Catering and Hospitality T Level a success – both in terms of its content and how it is delivered.

The insights shared during the roundtable will feed in to the work of the influential Catering and Hospitality T Level employer panel – chaired by BTC member and Director of the National Federation of Fish Friers, Hugh Mantle.

Commenting on the roundtable, BTC co-host and T Level employer panel chair Hugh Mantle said:

“With 61% of takeaways unable to recruit the staff they need, it’s imperative that the Government takes action to solve the skills shortage facing takeaway businesses1. The British Takeaway Campaign supports the introduction of the Catering and Hospitality T Level as a means to provide a pipeline of home-grown talent for the sector.

“The BTC and Tes roundtable provided a brilliant opportunity for me to hear from a range of different stakeholders. These insights will be invaluable in shaping the T Level syllabus.”

Stephen Exley, roundtable co-host and Further Education Editor at Tes, added:

“T Levels are an ambitious and exciting step towards bolstering the UK’s technical education offering, but they will take time, effort and investment to get right.

“It was clear from the roundtable how crucial it is for FE providers and the takeaway sector to work together to support the delivery of the T Level. It was great to hear from innovative colleges like Cheshire College South and West on how they are working closely with restaurants from across the sector to deliver the best results for students and for employers.  I’m looking forward to hearing of more great examples in the coming weeks and months.”

The senior-level roundtable focused on how to ensure the T Level delivers the pipeline of home-grown talent that businesses need to thrive, with those present calling for the qualification’s training placements to better reflect the commercial environment of the workplace.

Attendees included the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, the Association of Colleges, Le Cordon Bleu London, Just Eat, Azzurri Group, National Federation of Fish Friers, Independent Higher Education, Cheshire College South and West and the Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year 2018.

Carmel Grant, Deputy Director for Technical Education Implementation & Delivery at the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education added:

“T Levels are new high quality two-year, technical study programmes which, alongside apprenticeships and A Levels, will be one of the three major options available to people aged 16 – 19.

“By involving employers throughout the development of the qualifications, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education aims to ensure that T Levels will be relevant, engaging and applicable to the world of work.

“T Levels will play a vital role in helping to fill skills gaps experienced by sectors across the UK, so I was delighted to join the BTC and Tes skills roundtable.

“It was really encouraging to see employers and Further Education providers working proactively to ensure the qualification is a success and that it meets the needs for the sector.”

As part of the T Level, the British Takeaway Campaign wants to see compulsory components on specialist shortage cuisines, as well as on other key areas such as sustainability, food safety and nutrition.

According to research commissioned by the British Takeaway Campaign, 61% of takeaways claim that they are having difficulty recruiting the staff they need – representing a 65% increase in just one year. In particular, 80% of these takeaways are struggling to recruit skilled chefs in specialist cuisines such as curry, sushi and dim sum. 1