Andrew Stephenson MP has praised a Government announcement (20/6/8) of a £5 million fund to encourage more experts into teaching.
The Taking Teaching Further program will pay for up to 150 professionals, from sectors such as engineering and computing, to retrain as further education teachers.
This is important as the expertise will help to support the roll out of the first gold standard T level qualification, high quality technical courses equivalent to A levels, in September 2020.
The fund will benefit further educations institutions, such as the Lancashire Adult Learning Centre, which launched a new hub in Northlight in November of Last Year. Lancashire Adult Learning supports over 22,000 adult learners in Lancashire across 120 venues in the county.
Pendle MP, Andrew Stephenson said, “While in education I had the opportunity to be learn from industry leaders who were able to bring a wealth of practical experience into the classroom.
“Having benefitted from being taught by such incredible people myself I think it is fair for me to say that students will find this to be invaluable.”
The announcement was made by Ann Milton MP, the Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills, who came to Pendle in February to visit the new Lancashire Adult Learning centre.
Anne Milton said, “Teaching in further education is an incredibly rewarding career. It is an opportunity to pass on your knowledge and skills and give someone the chance at a rewarding career.
“I am thrilled to announce this excellent new programme. Attracting the best of industry into the further education sector will help students gain the knowledge and skills that industry really needs.”