Recruitment and Retention in the Post-16 Learning and Skills Sector

• quality. A minority of respondents indicated some discontentaround training, with a feeling that the quality can be variable: “I ammostly satisfied [with training], I mean obviously, it is variable.Some of it’s good, some of it’s bad and some of it’s atrocious”[Further Education];• lack of time to attend training is a constraint for some staff whichcan often mean juggling timetables and arranging cover staff. Insome cases, staff are discouraged from attending training becausethey return to increased workloads as a result: “whenever I go onexternal training sessions, no cover is arranged for my classes. SoI come back with extra work to do. It puts you off training”. [FurtherEducation].8.15 There is not perceived to be equity of access to training opportunities,particularly among part-time/sessional staff and less funding is felt to beavailable for staff training in the adult and community learning and workbased learning sub-sectors.Qualifications8.16 Respondents were asked about the teaching and training qualificationsthey currently hold (Table 8.2). Many teachers hold more than onequalification. The main qualification held is D32/33 and A1/2qualifications (41%). 25% hold a Certificate/Diploma in Education orTeaching and Learning, 24% hold a PGCE/PGET qualification and 23%hold a D34/V1 qualification. 9% of respondents had no formal teachingqualifications.8.17 These largely reflect the findings of the HOST survey which reported that28% of teachers hold a PCGE, 24% a Certificate in Education orTeaching and Learning and 25% hold a Certificate in FE Teaching andLearning.8.18 In terms of different organisations that staff work for the followingcharacteristics emerge:• those working in sixth form colleges hold PGCE/PGETs;• those working in further education are most likely to hold a D32/33-A1/2, a certificate/diploma in education/teaching/learning or aPGCE/PGET;• those working in adult and community learning are most likely tohold a D32/33-A1/2, a certificate/diploma ineducation/teaching/learning or a PGCE/PGET plus a range of otherqualifications;77