Colleges urged to bid for second round of Taking Teaching Further funding

The second round of the Taking Teaching Further (TTF) programme has opened inviting bids from colleges and post-16 providers to attract industry professionals to teach in further education.

The first round of the £5 million scheme was launched in June to bring in more people with diverse experiences into teaching so students gain the skills and knowledge that employers demand. The 37 successful providers, who will support 80 industry professional to retrain to work as teachers in their institutions, were announced in October.

Buckinghamshire College Group have already recruited five teachers through the programme in priority areas such as Digital, Maths, and Childcare. More appointments are expected to be made by first round providers in the new year.

Paula Kavanagh, Senior Lead at Buckinghamshire College Group said: "The trainee teachers taking part in this project are benefitting enormously from the support they’re receiving from experienced teachers within Buckinghamshire College Group. However, this is a two-way street and the College recognises and appreciates the value of recruiting industry professionals from these hard to recruit areas. This has enabled a professional exchange between trainee and teacher which is reciprocal and benefits everyone, not least the students.

TTF has been designed with the Association of Colleges, and the Education and Training Foundation who are also delivering the programme on our behalf to create further links between the education sector and industry.

Read more