Building a Stronger FE College Workforce: How Improving Pay and Working Conditions Can Help Support FE College Teacher Supply. Report

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  • Additional Information
    • Availability:
      National Foundation for Educational Research. The Mere, Upton Park, Slough, Berkshire, SL1 2DQ, UK. Tel: +44-1753-574123; Fax: +44-1753-637280; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: http://www.nfer.ac.uk
    • Peer Reviewed:
      N
    • Source:
      65
    • Sponsoring Agency:
      Gatsby Charitable Foundation (United Kingdom)
    • Education Level:
      Adult Education
      Higher Education
      Postsecondary Education
    • Subject Terms:
      Adult Education; Foreign Countries; Teacher Shortage; Salary Wage Differentials; Teacher Persistence; Teacher Recruitment; Technical Education; College Faculty; Work Environment; Job Skills; Construction Industry; Engineering; Manufacturing; Information Technology; Age Differences; Economic Factors; Compensation (Remuneration); Teacher Morale; Faculty Workload; Student Behavior; Mental Health; COVID-19; Pandemics
    • Subject Terms:
      United Kingdom (England)
    • ISBN:
      978-1-916567-17-7
    • Abstract:
      Further education (FE) plays a key part in the post-16 educational landscape in England in delivering technical and academic education that is vital to the country's supply of skilled workers. Yet, despite this importance, the sector has been facing significant challenges in recent years, including critical staff shortages in some subject areas. Data and research on FE teaching staff shortages, including their main causes, is limited. However, the available research points towards a deterioration in real-terms pay for FE teachers, and the resulting emergence of pay gaps with industry and teachers in other settings, as a likely contributor. This research utilised a mixed-methods research design to build upon existing literature and provide new insights on the FE workforce, including estimates of the magnitude of pay disparities between FE teaching and industry. The research also explores other factors that may impact on recruitment and retention, alongside pay. As this was an exploratory research project, its scope was focussed specifically on the technical education routes where the research suggests both pay gaps for FE teachers relative to 'outside' industry occupations (Lake et al., 2018) and unfilled vacancy rates are the highest (DfE, 2023c): (1) Construction and the built environment, (2) Engineering and manufacturing and (3) Digital. The project involved the collection of interview data from teaching staff and heads of departments in our focus subjects working in general FE colleges.
    • Abstract:
      ERIC
    • Publication Date:
      2024
    • Accession Number:
      ED661601