Extend the 5.5% Pay Increase To Further Education Staff
Extend the 5.5% Pay Increase To Further Education Staff
The Issue
To the House of Commons, I am acutely aware of the vital role Further Education (FE) plays in our education system. A recent 5.5% pay increase to teaching staff has excluded college staff, worsening this disparity. I strongly urge the government to include further education staff in the pay increase awarded to teachers.
FE is a crucial sector, providing opportunities for growth, including 16-18 year olds and training for adults switching careers or up-skilling. However, with more college teachers than school teachers leaving the profession each year (16% vs. 10%), the system is under strain.
Criteria for FE sector staff often require industry professionals to provide relevant, up-to-date training. Nevertheless, attracting and retaining such professionals requires competitive pay levels that the current funding does not support.
Without action on pay and conditions, without respect for the FE sector, without understanding of the job we do, a decline in FE educators will continue. Many electricians, bricklayers, plumbers, plasterers, and IT technicians (to name but a few) can earn vastly more in the private sector than in FE and without those trades taught by competent FE teachers this country will struggle to grow.
Our students rely on well-paid, well-trained teachers to give them the skills they need to realise their aspirations and make positive contributions to their local communities. This is vital to help the country push forward with Labour’s vision for a Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The 5.5% award would see pay packets increase by over £2,500 for the average classroom teacher, which would take the median salary for 2024/25 to over £49,000 a year. FE college staff do not earn anything near this salary as a lecturer, yet in the same sector.
In conclusion, we need collective action and urge the government to extend the 5.5% pay increase awarded to teachers of further education staff. This will help reduce the disparity, remain competitive and, thus, improve the quality of learning for our students. Further Education should be included in all national teacher increase made by the government moving forward.
11,157
The Issue
To the House of Commons, I am acutely aware of the vital role Further Education (FE) plays in our education system. A recent 5.5% pay increase to teaching staff has excluded college staff, worsening this disparity. I strongly urge the government to include further education staff in the pay increase awarded to teachers.
FE is a crucial sector, providing opportunities for growth, including 16-18 year olds and training for adults switching careers or up-skilling. However, with more college teachers than school teachers leaving the profession each year (16% vs. 10%), the system is under strain.
Criteria for FE sector staff often require industry professionals to provide relevant, up-to-date training. Nevertheless, attracting and retaining such professionals requires competitive pay levels that the current funding does not support.
Without action on pay and conditions, without respect for the FE sector, without understanding of the job we do, a decline in FE educators will continue. Many electricians, bricklayers, plumbers, plasterers, and IT technicians (to name but a few) can earn vastly more in the private sector than in FE and without those trades taught by competent FE teachers this country will struggle to grow.
Our students rely on well-paid, well-trained teachers to give them the skills they need to realise their aspirations and make positive contributions to their local communities. This is vital to help the country push forward with Labour’s vision for a Fourth Industrial Revolution.
The 5.5% award would see pay packets increase by over £2,500 for the average classroom teacher, which would take the median salary for 2024/25 to over £49,000 a year. FE college staff do not earn anything near this salary as a lecturer, yet in the same sector.
In conclusion, we need collective action and urge the government to extend the 5.5% pay increase awarded to teachers of further education staff. This will help reduce the disparity, remain competitive and, thus, improve the quality of learning for our students. Further Education should be included in all national teacher increase made by the government moving forward.
11,157
The Decision Makers
Supporter Voices
Petition created on 4 August 2024