Yorkshire tradesman turned FE teacher encourages others to share their skills

Peter Face believes industry professionals can play a crucial role in helping close this skills gap by sharing their experience through FE teaching, just like he does. Peter Face is a painting and decorating FE teacher at Craven College in Skipton, Yorkshire. Peter met the team at Craven College while working in the industry, when he took on apprentices from their FE courses.

For several years he turned down teaching opportunities, in part because he has dyslexia, and thought this would hold him back. He has now been a teacher for almost three years and wishes he had done it earlier. He studied for a teacher training degree at Huddersfield University alongside his FE teaching job and has said that receiving his degree was one of his proudest moments.

Peter shares: “I spent most of my life avoiding challenging situations, which is why I was self-employed for so long. However, the stress of running a business and chasing clients’ payments made me realise needed a new direction. I discovered that with my experience from the construction industry, I could transition into teaching construction related courses at my local FE college. This was the perfect career pivot for me at this moment in my life and it’s boosted my wellbeing.

Teaching from a textbook can be impersonal, but sharing personal experiences is invaluable. I could write a book about my experiences—some funny, some not so much. The students enjoy hearing about my work because it makes my teaching more relatable to them and helps them to understand how they will use the skills we’re learning on the course in the real working world.

Teaching in FE has allowed me to give back to my field. It’s incredibly rewarding to see students with no prior experience progress from to their final assignment and then move into the workplace. Knowing I helped them build up the confidence to pursue their trade is such an incredible feeling.”

About the Department for Education’s FE Teacher Recruitment campaign The Department for Education’s Teach in Further Education campaign is calling on those with industry experience to teach in FE by sharing their skills and training the next generation of workers in their field. FE teachers are needed across many subject areas but there is particular demand for workers from the following sectors: Health and Social Care, Construction, Engineering and Manufacturing and Digital and IT.

Practical experience gained from industry is highly sought after, and teaching and other academic qualifications are not always a pre-requisite for employment as FE teachers can start earning straight away and do funded training on-the-job. There are full-time, part-time and flexible contracts available, allowing FE teachers to balance their hours alongside other professional or personal responsibilities.

For more information about how you can share your skills: Visit gov.uk/teach-in-further-education.