Staying industry-ready: why professional FE lecturers must keep their edge

By Rachel Whitton, Curriculum Manager: Professional Studies & Education at Warrington & Vale Royal College and Research Further Scholar

Working in a sector that bridges the gap between vocational skills and academic learning, FE lecturers face a constant challenge of staying current and relevant with the skills and knowledge required for their roles within the sector. We must acknowledge that delivering high quality education in colleges is not just about the pedagogical skills, but more about ensuring that what we teach reflects current industry standards and what is really happening within the workplace. As industry evolves at an unprecedented pace, driven by technological innovation and globalisation, employers expect the new workforce to come ready with up to date knowledge and practical skills aligned with industry needs. But how can lecturers stay up to date, whilst managing heavy workloads, time constraints, and limited staff development budgets within their institutions? How can they ensure that their own professional knowledge is up to date, to arm their learners with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be workforce ready?

The dual practice concept is integral to being a lecturer in the FE sector. Vocational education relies on authenticity, where lecturers bring their topics to life with current industry insights within the classroom, bringing a significant need to move beyond the compliance driven training to more meaningful and teacher driven CPD activity, which is sector specific. How can we ensure our lecturers do not become obsolete, once they have left their own sector to come and teach within FE instead? Staying current is a balancing act of pedagogical competence and technical excellence, and without meaningful CPD lecturers can become detached from professional practice and the real working world.

How can we shake off the tick box exercise of CPD? By approaching the matter strategically, making CPD a powerful tool for professional growth and curriculum innovation, and going beyond the compliance activities. Transmission models of CPD regard teachers as passive participants of learning rather than active constructors of it. Imposed CPD can undermine professional independence and agency (Loy, 2024). However, encouraging autonomy can offer individuals the freedom to set their own standards and bring bold, creative visions to life without being held back by rigid rules (Hyde et al., 2025). It can be argued that CPD in FE often prioritises activities that yield measurable outcomes for inspection bodies, rather than fostering the deeper, holistic professional growth of individual practitioners (Loy, 2024).

Practitioner research within the FE sector is surely a powerful tool to help support the professional development of our lecturers. Practitioner research should remain closely connected to our own institution to strengthen collaboration and shared learning, so not create any unnecessary divides. One should acknowledge that management will often seek clear evidence of impact when allocating time and resources, as their focus will be return on investment. By demonstrating both immediate departmental benefits and the broader, long-term value of practitioner research, we can foster mutual understanding and support for these initiatives. The challenge for FE lecturers is to develop a researcher identity whilst working in colleges as opposed to a HE setting, while managing the complexities of their professional role.

Networking offers the hidden powers of professional connections and can open doors to industry insights from both fellow practitioners and employers. Harnessing those opportunities to network should be seized and shared across the sector. Institutional support is paramount for dedicated CPD time, and leadership must play a crucial role here to enable those communities of practice to flourish. It should be prioritised as an investment in quality and not an optional extra! There is immense value in engaging with fellow practitioners to share ideas and strategies for overcoming challenges within the classroom. These conversations not only spark innovation, but also highlight how each institution brings its own unique vision, even while operating under the same governing bodies and funding frameworks. Our part-time lecturers are in a unique and fortunate position, as they maintain active roles in industry, while teaching in FE. This dual perspective allows them to bring authentic, real-world insights into the classroom, enriching the curriculum with practical examples and stories that connect theory to everyday professional practice. FE lecturers do not just teach; they inspire learners who are equipped for the real world and ready to thrive, and it is their subject expertise that transforms lessons into meaningful experiences.