Recommendation 65

HM Government · verbatim extract Accepted

PLANS ALREADY IN PLACE The Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper sets out our commitment to and plans for closer working between the department, employers, local areas and education providers. Forging new relationships with businesses, supported by investment from skills packages, this will help to raise awareness of the opportunities in the FE sector. This includes a commitment to strengthen the pipeline from skilled trades into vocational teaching, recognising the value of industry expertise in FE classrooms. Building on the vision set out in the Skills White Paper, we have already delivered a series of initiatives that are actively strengthening the pipeline from industry into FE teaching. This includes plans to deliver a £20 million FE Teacher Industry Exchange scheme, designed to strengthen partnerships between colleges and construction employers. The initiative aims to increase the number of teachers with industry experience and support industry professionals to teach in the FE sector while continuing to work in their trade. A local facilitator model will be established in each Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP) area to help connect FE providers with employers and make it easier to share expertise. We are also working with the Construction Industry Training Board on a pathfinder project to test and refine approaches to dual professionalism. This work is helping us understand what is most effective in enabling skilled tradespeople to enter the FE teaching workforce, whether on a full-time or part-time basis, while continuing to apply their expertise in industry. Alongside this, the Taking Teaching Further programme continues to play a central role in supporting industry professionals to train as FE teachers. Since its launch, nearly 1,800 individuals have been supported to begin teaching careers in FE. The programme is open to a wide range of providers and supports recruitment across 15 technical teaching routes, including construction, engineering, and digital. We are also collaborating with the Gatsby Charitable Foundation to pilot a training offer for skilled professionals currently working in industry who are interested in teaching in FE. The pilot introduces key teaching principles through an evidence-informed curriculum and supports progression into full Initial Teacher Education qualifications or apprenticeships. This work is helping us test scalable models for enabling industry professionals to transition into FE teaching, in line with our commitment to dual professionalism and flexible entry routes set out in the Skills White Paper. To raise awareness and attract skilled professionals into FE teaching, we have launched the national recruitment campaign Share Your Skills. This campaign is targeted at individuals with real-world industry experience, including those approaching retirement and encourages them to consider teaching in FE. It supports the White Paper’s commitment to promoting dual professionalism and flexible entry routes into the sector. Since launch, the campaign has led to a 30% increase in consideration of FE teaching careers among its target audience. Each year it generates strong engagement, with over 450,000 website visits and 20,000 individuals seeking advice on how to get started.