Middlesbrough College’s T Level Scholarship with Steel Benders

Three T-Level scholars from Middlesbrough College are gaining industry experience in Teesside through a partnership with Steel Benders UK (SBUK), a heavy-duty metal manipulation firm based in Middlesbrough.

The placements are part of the college’s T-Level Scholarship Programme and are designed to equip students with essential skills for careers in the engineering sector through 315 hours of industry experience.

The students being shown some of the equipment at SBUK. (Image: Tom Banks)

Deaton Sargeant and Ben Prest are both studying maintenance, installation, and repair with a focus on instrumentation and control, while Maxim Czupun is specialising in mechanical engineering through a design and development pathway.

Deaton Sargeant, 18, said: “I love it.

“I have learned how to work different machines and the different types of steel used.

“It was a last-minute choice to swap to this course, but I have found it and I love it.”

Ben Prest, also 18, said: “It is great.

SBUK’s Technical sales manager Lucy Anderson handing over a certificate to T-Level student Maxim Czupun (Image: Tom Banks)

“I have learned how to operate all different kinds of machinery and follow work orders.

“I have seen the outcomes as I’ve rolled basic components for wider projects.

“My brother is an engineer and my dad was a tradesman, so I have always been quite handy.

“After a year of theory, we have been excited to get amongst the practical.”

Maxim Czupun, 17, said: “I have really enjoyed it.

“I have done quite a lot of things that I wouldn’t have done otherwise.

“I have had experience of working that I have not had before, learning how to operate the machinery.”

The T-Level placements are part of a regional push to close the engineering skills gap by combining education with industry experience.

Phil Anderson, operations director at Steel Benders UK, said: “We are helping to shape the future of the business and it is something I’d have loved to have done myself as a teenager.

“This is an opportunity to give something back by giving these learners much-needed experience to evolve in working life.

“People can emerge from school unaware of what working life is like and these programmes are the perfect opportunity to get a little bit of experience.”

Steel Benders UK’s Teesside-based facility offers a wide range of high-precision services, including plate rolling, section bending, and advanced plasma and laser cutting.

Niamh Swaddle, engineering scholarship programme co-ordinator at Middlesbrough College, said: “Steel Benders is making a significant contribution to the industry by giving three young people the chance to gain valuable, hands-on experience directly on site.”