Taking Teaching Further round five recruitment open

Round five of Taking Teaching Further (TTF), the initiative that helps Further Education (FE) and Training sector providers attract experienced business and industry professionals into teaching careers, is now open.

The initiative is run by the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) on behalf of the Department for Education. It supports FE providers with funding for new recruits (up to £18,200 per recruit) to undertake a Level 5 teaching qualification and with the provision of intensive support such as paired teaching, mentoring or work shadowing. It also allows for reduced teaching workloads in new recruits’ first year of teaching.

For round five, recruitment through TTF has been expanded beyond teachers for the 15 technical route subjects it has previously focused on. It now includes a ‘core skills’ element, which aims to support the recruitment of experienced business and industry professionals as English, maths or SEND teachers for technical subject students.

The initiative has two routes:

1. Route one is open to all FE colleges and sixth form colleges in England. Places will be made available to all colleges on a draw-down basis.
2. Route two is open to all independent training providers, employer led providers, third sector training providers, local authority providers, adult and community learning providers, 16–19 academy converters and university technical colleges in England. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Recruitment for Round 5 will be open until 15 December 2022, with the support provided running until July 2024. Providers can find updated guidance and register to participate on the ETF website. Once registered, applicants will be invited to attend webinars that will set out the process and guidance in more detail.

First launched in 2018, Taking Teaching Further is the Government’s flagship FE recruitment programme – as set-out in the 2021 Skills for Jobs White Paper. So far, the TTF programme has supported over 700 business and industry professionals to train as FE teachers.

With the recent launch of the Government’s campaign ‘Teach in FE’ – which encourages industry professionals to consider taking up teaching careers in FE – TTF continues to provide practical support to help business and industry professionals bring their knowledge and experience into the classroom.

This support has been welcomed, with South Essex College Assistant Principal Nicki Kelly reflecting that:

“The Taking Teaching Further project has enabled us as a college to promote our vacancies to attract highly skilled industry professionals to join the college with an excellent support package for their journey into teaching. This package has provided additional support and incentive to applicants into the unknown territory of teaching.”

Her view is echoed in the experience of EKC Group Broadstairs College Lecturer in Plumbing Shaun McDonagh, a TTF recruit:

“Taking Teaching Further has provided me with an excellent chance to be fully supported in making the change from industry to FE teaching. The extra time to learn, prepare and gain essential skills during my first year of teaching since leaving the plumbing trade to become a lecturer has been invaluable.”