JobsAndCareersWithJamesCaanAutumn2016 - 98

PROMOTION

A WORLD OF TEACHING
IN FURTHER EDUCATION
You might be surprised to
learn there is a shortage of
dancers in the UK, but the
further education sector is
working hard to �ill the gap

S

ome jobs are more in demand
than others, and this is a
consideration when young
people are choosing their subjects
at school or university. The ideal
situation would be to ﬁnd a subject
you enjoy that leads to a profession
with a shortage of workers in the UK.

There's a belief that the most in-demand
jobs are the ones that no one wants to do
because they are either too difﬁcult or too
dangerous - but this is not the case.
The Home Ofﬁce provides data on
the shortage of workers in various UK
professions. The main ﬁnding of its
recent study was that the public has little
awareness of the professions that are
desperate for workers and the skills
needed to work in those professions.
The skills gap is largely invisible, and
this might be because many of the skills
are digital. Some of the most in-demand

professions involve technical ability,
computer science and visual design and yet
fewer than 1% of participants recognised
digital jobs as part of the skills gap.

The UK skills gap
Above right, the ﬁrst pie chart shows the
occupations that the public believes are in
demand. The second chart below shows
the actual sectors that need more staff,
based on Home Ofﬁce data, alongside the
skills associated with those professions.
The highest number of occupations
crying out for more workers are in Science,
Technology, Engineering and Maths
(STEM); Healthcare and Medicine; Waste
Management; and Art and Design.
People haven't acknowledged the need
for Engineers, Healthcare Professionals
and Visual Artists. Graphic Designers are
increasingly in demand as more markets
adopt digital strategies and improve their
interactive experiences.
Now the technological world is merging
with traditional markets, which means
a knowledge of computer science can
help artists to ﬁll new roles.
Dancing is the type of profession
many people avoid because it is
thought to be too competitive, and yet
not many people realise that the UK has

to source dancers from other countries.
Apprenticeships are seen as an increasingly
important route into work by the
government and employers alike, while
further education (FE) provides
high-quality education and training for
people aged 16 upwards to meet present
and future skills needs.
These vitally important skills are often
best passed on to young learners by
people who have worked in the professions
and industry before becoming teachers.

Career possibilities
The FE sector encompasses all types of
post-secondary school study (excluding
most higher education).
This makes for a vast range of career
possibilities for prospective FE Teachers.
By completing FE teacher training, you
can go on to open doors for a wide variety
of students, helping them take the steps
to realise their ambitions.

How to become a further
education teacher
Formal qualiﬁcation requirements for FE
Teachers were revoked in September 2013,
however, the sector still recognises the
need for good teaching qualiﬁcations. FE
providers are independent organisations
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