From T Level Placement to a Career at Bank of New York: Veronika’s Story

When Veronika Torres Rondon started her T Level in Software Engineering at The Manchester College, she had no idea it would lead to a career at one of the world’s biggest financial institutions.

In fact, she almost didn’t choose the T Level route at all.

“I was torn between A Levels and T Levels,” Veronika says. “But what attracted me was the experience, the 300 hours in the workplace. I wanted to get stuck in and see what the real world was like before deciding my next steps.”

That decision turned out to be life-changing.

Learning on the Job at GMCA

Veronika did her T Level placement at Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), working on a live website project in the Education, Work and Skills team.

“I didn’t know what to expect, I’d never even been in an office before,” she says. “But from day one, my manager Sophie pushed me out of my comfort zone. I was presenting, joining meetings, meeting new people. I even gave a speech in front of government reps.”

That placement opened doors Veronika never expected. At one meeting, she shared her T Level journey with local employers and ended up with three job offers.

“I remember walking out thinking, ‘this is it.’ That moment changed everything.”

Building skills for the future

Now, Veronika is a degree apprentice in the finance sector at Bank of New York. She works full-time, studies one day a week at university, and by the end of the programme, she’ll have a degree, a professional qualification and a guaranteed job.

“It’s intense, but I love it,” she says. “I speak to clients, I’ve learned about AI, I’m training in investigations, no two days are the same. The soft skills I picked up during my placement – like communication and teamwork really helped me hit the ground running.”