Further Education Institutions Debate
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Natalie Fleet
Main Page: Natalie Fleet (Labour - Bolsover)Department Debates - View all Natalie Fleet's debates with the Department for Education
Further Education Institutions
Natalie Fleet Excerpts(1 day, 23 hours ago)
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Anna Dixon
I agree. Closing the gap in pay will be vital, particularly if we look at vocational areas where industry salaries are higher. In construction, engineering and digital, FE teachers earn around 11% less on average than their peers who work in industry. Even when colleges do manage to recruit, they are quickly enticed back to industry, so it is not enough to just ask employers to release their staff to support the teaching of these in-demand skills. How does the Government intend to address the teacher shortages in further education, attract people and offer incentives for businesses to release people?
The final point I will touch on is social mobility.
Natalie Fleet (Bolsover) (Lab)
My constituency is one of 15 in the whole of England that does not have a sixth-form college or a further education college. That has huge repercussions for local young people and their potential. I thank my hon. Friend for securing this debate and sharing her point on the impact on social mobility. I have been campaigning for a sixth-form college at the Bolsover school site since I was elected, after the last Government offered the sixth form but left no funds to pay for it. Does my hon. Friend agree that areas such as mine must be the priority for Government support for a sixth form?
Anna Dixon
I commend my hon. Friend for being such a champion for Bolsover and wanting to secure opportunities for her constituents to get the education that they deserve. I am sure that the Minister heard her words.
By improving education across the board, including further education, we can increase social mobility and address the stark regional disparities across the UK. Social mobility is a core Labour value.